In Luke Chapter 8, JESUS tells this
parable:
5 'A sower went out to sow his seed. Now as he sowed, some fell
on the edge of the path and was trampled on; and the birds of
the air ate it up. 6 Some seed fell on rock, and when it
came up it withered away, having no moisture. 7 Some seed fell
in the middle of thorns and the thorns grew with it and choked
it. 8 And some seed fell into good soil and
grew and produced its crop a hundredfold.' Saying this he cried,
'Anyone who has ears for listening should listen!' Luke 8:5-8 (NJB)
When His
disciples ask him about the meaning of this, He prefaces His
explanation with the following revelation; “The knowledge of the
secrets of the kingdom of God has been given to you...” Luke 8:10
(NIV). This 'secret of the kingdom of God' has been passed down to
us! So what is it?
“This,
then, is what the parable means: the seed is the word of God,”
Luke 8:11 (NJB). The Gospel-the seed-
is the message of SALVATION, THE GOOD NEWS that through the blood of
JESUS CHRIST shed on the cross, the price of our sin is paid, the
penalty of sin which is death is fulfilled, our lives are ransomed
(bought back from death and hell), we are redeemed, our sins are
atoned for, we are made right with GOD (justified), and we are
cleansed from the stain of sin (purified by His blood). That means
that instead of the hopelessness fate of sinners, we have a future
hope of eternal life in the presence of GOD forever! Death is not the
END! It is the BEGINNING of an eternity of joy and peace!What a
relief!
“12 Those along the path
are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the
word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved,”
Luke 8:12 (NIV). This can happen in so many different ways, at so
many different stages in life-from elementary school, to university,
to the work place, peer pressure, and social interaction at all
levels. The end result is DOUBT and UNBELIEF.
“13 Those on the rock are
people who, when they first hear it, welcome the word with joy. But
these have no root; they believe for a while, and in time of
trial they give up,” Luke 8:13 (NJB). This one is tricky because
trials come for us all-there is no life without troubles. Who likes
pain anyway? No one. This is where the challenge of walking by faith
and not by sight becomes an unavoidable reality. When we go through
difficult times, the first question we ask is, “Why me?” If we
are not careful, discouragement, bitterness and disillusionment set
in, then we simply GIVE UP.
“14 The seed that fell among
thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way
they are choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures, and
they do not mature,” Luke 8:14 (NIV). It is so easy to be
completely focused on these things to the exclusion of all else. Our
faith can become shrivelled up when we do not make time to attend to
it. It becomes STUNTED.
“15 But
the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart,
who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop,”
Luke 8:15 (NIV). Patience, faith, obedience and trust are key
elements to producing a good crop! When we trust GOD, meditate on the
promises in the Bible, let His HOLY SPIRIT guide us, and keep our
eyes on JESUS CHRIST, we will be able to stand firm in our faith,
watch it GROW and spread out to affect the lives of those around us.
So I ask you, where did the seed fall
for you? “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved,”
Acts 16:31 (NKJV).
*Online
Bible tools: biblegateway.com, catholic.org/bible/ & bible.com*
Versions of the Bible: NJB (New Jerusalem Bible), NIV (New
International Version), NKJV (New King James Version).
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