Illustration: Cup with half-filled water cup
What do you see on hand? Describe this water cup!
How we view the life is just like how we view this water cup. Some might say “It is half-empty.” The others might say, “It is half-filled.” The amount of water stays the same. The material or the size of this water cups stays the same. Some view it is empty, others view it is filled. What a different view! Totally opposite, isn’t it? Everyone sees differently about certain situation or an object they are same. We see things through our heart. So often time the language we use reflects our heart. Even various places in the Bible testifies that, too. Not only our language but our whole life style is reflected by our heart.
Have you hung out with people or dated a person who is so negative all the time. That kind of heart is never attractive, by the way. I used to be like that. Every summer, in my elementary school year, I was sent to the VBS in the prayer mountain. That was the time I was able to get away from home. That very thing excited me. Didn’t you? And also, I met a lot of people and made friends. I was the one who sang the song loudest, of course, I was so out of tune. I was the one who sneaked out at night even though I wasn’t supposed to. I was the one who laughed so much and talkative. At the end of the VBS, I always lost my voice. When I came back home, my mother always asked me, “How was it? Did you have fun?” With my almost gone husky voice, I tried my best to answer her question sincerely. I said, “I hated it. Food was terrible, the lodging was horrible, I didn’t like the teacher, etc.” Almost every other camp or VBS I went, My answer was somewhat similar – Negative!
One day, I guess my mother was so tired of my negative comments. She said, “Why do you keep going to the cam or the VBS if you don’t like it? You are the one who always lost the voice. You didn’t fight with your friends. You must have lost your voice because you were singing too hard or talking too much. Every circumstances indicate you had a fun. All you do is complaint. From now on, if you will be so negative about it, then don’t go!”
“Don’t go? Don’t go?” “I cannot sing? Or I cannot talk or run?” Well, I stopped complaining from that moment on.
Is anyone with me on this? Does this only happen to me? How about you? What kind of attitude do you have? What kind of heart do you have seeing the world through?
Today’s bible passage is about the heart. What kind of heart can bear fruits in one’s life and what kind of heart cannot bear anything and even dies.
In today’s bible passage is known as one of the parables of Jesus. What is a parables? It is simply short stories which has lesson embedded in it. Jesus used short story to illustrate the kingdom truth. He always used illustration, the short story to teach people, so people can understand the kingdom truth more easily. Jesus used stuff in the parables that ordinary people faces in daily living. Such as today’s bible passage, He used agricultural materials that people always dealing with in daily living.
The sower went out to sow. He scattered the seed. Some seed fell on the side of the road, some fell on the rocky soil, some fell on the ground where the thorns were, and some were on the good ground. As he mentioned about four different type of soils, he explained to his disciples.
1. The path (the side of the road)
Some fell on the side of the road and the bird came ate them up. Here the bird represent the satan. The seed is the word of God. The side of the road is people’s heart. Here, it says the bird comes and eats them up. It means more than eating. It means devouring, consuming it. Jesus always faced opponents who were religious leaders such as Pharisees or Sadducees. They were the people who closed their heart and were not willing to listen what Jesus Christ saying. They rejected the word of God. In Chapter 3: 22, Jesus was falsely accused that He was demon possessed. Some people hear the word of God, but their heart is too closed to accept the word of God. Even they falsely accuse the believers mocking them and even killing believers. It is happening everywhere. Our enemy satan doesn’t anyone to believe in Jesus. They do whatever they can to prevent people getting saved. Satan snatches the word of God from people. People are designed to eat the word of God. When the word of God snatched away people cannot function well. Just like our physical body needs food to function properly. Satan takes the word of God, the real spiritual food and leave us with junk food, envy, hatred, false desire, etc. Road side heart doesn’t do any good.
2. Rocky soil
Some fell on the rocky soil. In Palestine, there are huge limestone deposit in the ground. You need to find out if there are limestone under soil. Visibly it is soil but under few inches or a feet, there can be limestone. So some seed fell on the ground which doesn’t have much soil the root can grown into. Another words roots are not strong enough to support the plant. Jesus was dealing with these kind of people. People heard what Jesus taught. People saw the miracles of Jesus. With two fishes and 5 loves of bread, he fed more than 5,000 people. People were happy. Huge people gathered around Him, but not many stood up for Jesus. People rejected when they saw Jesus was dying on the cross. It is like people who accepts Jesus as their savior but neglecting to know Him more. They don’t open the Bible. They don’t know what the Bible says about lives. They live by their own thoughts and plan. When the hardship hits them, they leave their faith. I have seen a lot of people like that. They are leaders of church and changed their beliefs to Jehovah’s witness, Mormon, etc. They simply leave the church and their belief. After they go to college, they live the life without the relationship with God or the word of God.
3. Thorns
They are believers. They have enough soil to grow but they are at the wrong place. They are trying to have fruits in the place where it wouldn’t be possible. Their worries of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things pulls them away from the Lord. Because of the worldly things, in worldly term, they are trippin’. Like Jesus’ family, they heard the rumors about Jesus, and they came to get him. In chapter 3:30,31, His mother and brothers heard the rumor and worried about Him. They forgot Jesus is the Son of God, matter fact, Jesus is the God Himself. Worldly worries tricked their heart. Notice that they didn’t leave the faith. They didn’t die but there is no fruits in their lives. What are the fruits of Spirit? Galatians 5:25, it says, “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control…” It doesn’t matter how long you have attended the church, if you don’t have love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control, then you have to check yourself whether you are trippin’ or not. You have too much desire for the worldly thing? Success in your life is the main focus rather than God? You are lost!
4. Good ground
People who have opened heart. And people who accepts the word of God and applies them into their lives just like His disciples. The bible says that they will have fruits 30, 60, 100 folds. The agriculture in Palestine, when you sow the seed, you usually harvest seven times more. If you get 10 times more then, it is very good harvest. But Jesus talked about 30, 60, 100 times more. Impossible numbers that no one would expect to happen. Who would have expected or imagine the tax-collectors, sinner, ignorant fisherman become main leaders in the history of Christianity. They were not meant to be leaders in worldly views. But in god, all mighty, all powerful God is able. When Peter preached, thousands of people got saved. The fisherman who betrayed Jesus but in God, he had done mighty work of God because of God. When the soil is good, the word is properly sowed, there will be miraculous fruits in your life.
What kind of soil is your heart?
Another interesting thing is the way the sower sowing the seeds. It seems he is very careless or not knowing how to do his job. Have you seen anyone sowing the seed? What do they do first? They find out what kind of soil they are dealing with the first. If he needs to take weed or stone out, he starts plowing, cultivating the soil. Then carefully the sower sowing the seed. But in this passage, he seems very careless.
The word of God is for everyone. The truth is for everyone. It doesn’t matter you accept or reject it. God is fair. God let shines his blessing to everyone. People are the one who rejects it. We are supposed to spread the word of God. If the person who has good soil, they will be fruitful in God. Being a fruitful life is totally up to God. Our responsibility is to keep the good soil in us. Is it in you? How can you have a good soil in you?
You have to keep cultivating your heart. If there is a weed to pluck it out, you have to do it. You have to keep guarding your soul. You have to keep submit to yourself to the authority of God - your parents, your spiritual leader, most of all God. What do you concern these days? What are your worries? What troubles you? How is your spiritual life with Christ?
All those transportation has an engine. Cars, Trains, Ships, Airplanes are such. They can go forward and backward except airplane. The road is where a car is supposed to be on. Either the car can go or back even stop. Trains is supposed to stay on the track. Also a ship is on water. They are safe when they don’t move. But a airplane is not so. Airplane cannot stop in the air. Airplane has to go forward and constantly moving, otherwise everyone in the airplane is dead. Christians are like airplane. We don’t have reverse. We have to keep moving forward otherwise we are dead.
Don’t stop trying to know God better. Have you prayed before you came? Have you saturated your time and yourself into the word of God? Have you felt the word of God as honey in your life?
What kind of soil are you?
