The Parable of the Sower

One of the most interesting things in studying the life of Jesus is how He taught in parables so that the people could understand His message in their life language, or their every day living experiences. I have been thinking a lot lately about my relationship with Christ and how I can get to know Him better and have a more intimate relationship with Him where I can really learn how to hear His voice. This particular parable in Luke 8 really jumped out at me. Large crowds would follow Jesus from town to town and after they had traveled for a while, Jesus would stop and teach the crowds through these parables. Luke 8:4-15 in the New Living Translation says:

^"4 One day Jesus told a story in the form of a parable to a large crowd that had gathered from many towns to hear him: ⁵ “A farmer went out to plant his seed. As he scattered it across his field, some seed fell on a footpath, where it was stepped on, and the birds ate it. ⁶ Other seed fell among rocks. It began to grow, but the plant soon wilted and died for lack of moisture. ⁷ Other seed fell among thorns that grew up with it and choked out the tender plants. ⁸ Still other seed fell on fertile soil. This seed grew and produced a crop that was a hundred times as much as had been planted!” When he had said this, he called out, “Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.”⁹ His disciples asked him what this parable meant. ¹⁰ He replied, “You are permitted to understand the secrets of the Kingdom of God. But I use parables to teach the others so that the Scriptures might be fulfilled: ‘When they look, they won’t really see.When they hear, they won’t understand.’¹¹ “This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is God’s word. ¹² The seeds that fell on the footpath represent those who hear the message, only to have the devil come and take it away from their hearts and prevent them from believing and being saved. ¹³ The seeds on the rocky soil represent those who hear the message and receive it with joy. But since they don’t have deep roots, they believe for a while, then they fall away when they face temptation. ¹⁴ The seeds that fell among the thorns represent those who hear the message, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the cares and riches and pleasures of this life. And so they never grow into maturity. ¹⁵ And the seeds that fell on the good soil represent honest, good-hearted people who hear God’s word, cling to it, and patiently produce a huge harvest."

As I was reading this I wondered where I fit in regards to where the seed falls in my life. As I have said before, I have seen the Lord do so many amazing things not only in my life but in people's lives around me so why is it that when life gets hard I panic? When will I "get it?" I feel that many times there are too many weeds and thorns in my life that crowd out the time I choose to spend with Jesus. I used to make the excuse that life was just too busy but then, as I began to really be honest with myself, I realized that I was choosing what and where to be busy. I have not properly set up my boundary in regards to my time with Him. I do in other areas of my life such as my swimming time, or my time with Patty and the kids, or my work, or other church activities, or watching hours and hours of TV. There is definitely plenty of time to spend with the Lord if I made that a priority in my life. I guess the reason why this hit me so much this evening is because we have been going through some very difficult financial times as have so many of our friends. We are self employed and our work has dropped dramatically these past several months.There are so many unknowns right now ... but I have had situations like this in the past where I have seen the Lord step in in so many ways. So why is it that as I face this mountain I panic? Why is it that I struggle so much with my weight loss and instead turn to food when I'm under such stress and anxiety? These are good questions that I must work through and ask the Lord to help me understand. I don't want to be one of those people who get to Heaven and then hear that God doesn't know me ... In Matthew 7:21 - 23 Jesus is talking to the "church" ... He says " ²¹ “Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter. ²² On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’ ²³ But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.’" It's not too late for any of us to get our relationship and priorities right with Jesus. He loves us so much and desires to be our true friend ... He created us so that we could have a relationship with Him. I guess it's just really been hitting me lately. I have done well at talking the talk, but have not done well at walking the walk. When my life has gotten complicated and my stress and anxiety have increased, instead of laying it down and allowing Jesus to take it for me, I turn inward and just stare at the wall. I'm so tired of living my life this way. I want to experience what it's like to have such a fulfilling life and friendship with Christ so that when He does call me home, I can stand before Him on that judgement day of the believers knowing that I have dedicated my life to Him once again and did the best I could to model Him in the way I lived the second half of my life. When I face life's trials that can some times be so hard and scary, I want to learn what it's like to give it ALL over to Him and experience the kind of peace that only Jesus can give. I want to become that good soil like Luke 8:15 says: "And the seeds that fell on the good soil represent honest, good-hearted people who hear God’s word, cling to it, and patiently produce a huge harvest." If I will ask Him to help me grow in this area, I know He will help me and I will begin to experience that harvest. That's pretty exciting! It's time for me to get off the fence and run hard after my friend Jesus. I feel so incredibly blessed knowing that we serve such an amazingly loving and gracious Savior who created each of us to love Him too! I am truly a blessed man!