SOWER, SEED AND SOIL
[9-minute read]
Christians today have instant and constant access to teachings, interviews and sermons anywhere and anytime. We like sermons that feel less like instructional lectures and are inspiring with more relatable context. We prefer preachers who are eloquent in expressing their thoughts with a good grasp of whatever language they use. We grade sermons according to how they make us feel on any given day. Nothing wrong with these expectations.
However, if we are not careful and if we forget why these preferences matter in the first place, we will begin to perceive Christian services and sermons as pop culture and treat them like entertainment for their feel-good effect without paying attention to what we will do with the lessons taught, warnings issued, and stories shared. We log in to ‘live’ sessions with the same cavalier manner that we consume content on Youtube videos, Netflix movies or Spotify podcasts. Content providers on these platforms require nothing more than a thumbs up or down and audience are free to decide what they want to do afterwards.
As Christians, it pays to pause and give thought to what we do with the teachings that we receive week after week. Unexamined, we can let unhealthy habits cause us to experience faith only vicariously online instead of being sensitive to what the Holy Spirit wants to teach and instruct us. Do we seek well-processed spiritual food laboriously prepared by preachers and walk away with nothing more than a good feeling, a 5-star rating or a thumbs-up approval as our only response?
Jesus is famously known for His thought-provoking teachings but He also had a tendency to serve up semi-processed lessons that are called parables (Mark 4:2). Parables are basically illustrated sermons that are strong in cultural context, yet they require their audience to draw their own conclusions. Characteristically, the parables that Jesus shared were not straight-forward canons of truth and goodness; so simply taken at face value, they could be highly confounding. Yet to those with teachable hearts, they had to power to transform misguided thinking and behaviour.
As expected, Jesus used parables to describe the differentiation among those who were constantly attending His talks. Clearly, He wasn’t impressed with large crowds or regular attendance alone. Numbers never impressed Him and He never curated His message to attract their ‘likes’. It was crystal clear to Jesus that when the seed of His teachings landed on the seedbed of human hearts, something should happen – it should flourish!!! But often, it didn’t.
Mark chapter 4 started with Him having such a large audience that He had to find a floating platform to preach from! From verses 1 through 20, He then launched an incisive parable called The Parable of the Sower to confront His audience with the question: what is the state and condition of your heart today?
Here’s a quick run-through of the verses:
Verses 1 to 9 narrate the parable of the Sower;
Verses 10 to 12 issue a warning from Jesus; and
Verses 13 to 20 present an explanation of the scenarios Jesus described.
So who’s who, what’s what in this parable with hidden meanings? Well, to be sure, God Himself is the Sower that Jesus described in “A farmer went out to sow his seed” (v3) and in “The farmer sows the word.” (v14). The seed refers to the infallible Word of God that we read and hear: the content we consume. The soil hints at our hearts – the landing ground of all the knowledge and information that we receive! It is a mistake to think that the conditions of our hearts are permanent states; that once we ‘get it’, we will always ‘get it’. In reality, the condition of our hearts is in a constant flux, influenced by our daily living and the influences we are exposed to. The heart also does not automatically run health-checks on its own because needs constant nourishment and hard training to keep it healthy. That’s why the heart is a barometer of all the influences that we allow in our lives and the convictions we follow.
Following Scripture from Mark 4:1-20, let’s take a quick look at the four different types of landing ground Jesus spoke about.
THE PATH
“As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up.” (v4).
(Explained in v15). “Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them.”
This describes the heart of the believer who is always coming back for more instructions and teachings but lacks any soil for them to stay embedded in. It portrays someone who is very familiar with Christian rituals and culture but there is no change from being curious to being committed. Because personal preferences are held closer to the heart than the Word of God, this person becomes an easy and open target for the enemy to use his opinions and voice to supplant the Word of God.
THE ROCKY PLACES
“Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root.” (V5-6).
(Explained in V16-17). “Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away.”
Heard of serial killers? We’re not talking about psychotic murderers lurking around but the many preoccupations and habits - work, business, family, recreational indulgences - that we give centre-stage and unrestricted access to our time and attention, and free rein in our lives. These are the ‘rocks’ that Jesus alluded to that slowly begin to edge God out into the margins of our lives. To be sure, life will always have its fair share of chaos, crises and calamities but if we remain none the wiser in overcoming them, they will pile up and stymie our spiritual progress so that any response to God’s Word will only be short-lived and sporadic.
The result is a silent and undetected spiritual crisis that appears innocuous on the surface and stays hidden below the radar.
THE GOOD SOIL
“Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, some multiplying thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times.’ (v8)
(Explained in v20) “Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop – some thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times what was sown.”
Good soil speaks of ground that is attentively cultivated and ready for crop to grow. There is always practical preparation involved - setting aside time for receiving ministry, preparing a place to immerse oneself in worship and teachings, taking notes, using an earpiece or headphones instead of relying on poor quality device speakers to listen in, and setting up proper lighting, and checking audio and visual capabilities.
Good soil is a result of disciplined self-examination against the Word of God. It is not a product of Word memory but of life experience that bears testimony to the goodness and truth of God’s Word. It is, ultimately and always, about becoming more Christlike.
Here are Three Key Reminders for keeping our hearts in good condition:
#1 Guard your heart above all else
Only the Holy Spirit should be the gatekeeper of our hearts – not our spouse, children or family; not our boss; not our recreation. Proverbs 4:23 is a good reminder, “Guard your heart above all else,
for it determines the course of your life.”
At the same time, we ought to pay close attention to what is growing in our heart. Is there resentment, prideful need to be in control of everything, or fear and shame?
#2 Keep your heart in check
In His loving goodness, God often sends people to plow up the hard ground of our hearts (Jeremiah 4:3-4 NLT). These are people who are committed to God and to our growth and they will say what we need to hear even if it unsettles us momentarily. It’s easy to find social companions to do things with but we need to thank God if we have even one friend who speaks the truth in love.
#3 Hide His Word in your heart
Jesus taught, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly My disciples; and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
The emphasis is in ‘continue in My Word’ – it’s not synonymous with memorize My Word, recite and chant My Word, or add My Word to your favourite Bible passages. Obeying God’s Word is the only way to effectively live it out. And this obedience will lead us to a place of freedom. This is not a promise for an easy way out of a difficult situation because God wants us to take responsibility of our choices and trust Him to walk us through extreme challenges.
This is a summary and reflection based on a virtual BIR Session held on 22 October 2022.
