Jesus taught the crowds that had gathered in the fourth chapter of the Gospel of Mark by teaching them parables. The first of these is the Parable of the Sower. (Mark 4:3-8) In the parable, a farmer went out to sow his seed. Some fell on the hard-packed earthen path; some on rocky places; some among thorns; some on good soil. Jesus explained that the seed was the Word (the message about the Kingdom of God) and that the various types of soil symbolized the different conditions in which someone could receive the Word.
What we need to consider is that the condition in which we receive the Word is something we can
change if we're willing to do so. The first step in this journey is to realize that, through this parable, Christ describes a process of cultivating the human heart. Jesus explains in Matthew 13:18-23 that the seed sown on the path represents someone who "hears the message about the Kingdom and does not understand it." The seed that lands in the rocky places is someone who "hears the word and at once receives it with joy" but "When trouble or persecution comes because of the Word, he quickly falls away." The thorns represent someone who hears the Word, "but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful." The good soil represents someone, "who hears the Word and understands it."
To fully understand this parable, we need to comprehend the process of spiritual growth. When a new spiritual concept is presented to us, especially one that exists outside of our preconceived ideas and
self-imposed limitations, we often don't understand it. Even if we intellectually comprehend the
concept, we have yet to adopt it as our own and integrate it into how we perceive the world and the
base from which we interact with life. There is a well-structured process that moves us from this beginning point to the point where the concept literally becomes a part of who we are and we manifest the fruit of that concept in everything we do and everything we are.
Along The Path
Jesus said, "When anyone hears the message about the Kingdom and does not understand it, the evil
one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed sown along the path."
(Matthew 13:19) When we looked at Christ's choice to teach the masses from the boat (see "The Gospel of Mark: Chapter Four," 8 May 2005) we considered that the physical approach that Jesus took to preaching in that passage was a message in itself. A very similar concept is the case in this parable of the sower.
Jesus describes a farmer who scatters the seed by a process known as a broadcast sowing. Taking a handful of seed and sweeping his arm in a horizontal arc, the farmer lets the seed spill from his hand, evenly distributing it over a wide area. This method is opposed to sowing in drill patches, where the farmer specifically excavates certain patches of soil and carefully places the seed in these places. The symbolism of this method is that Christ offers the Word to everyone (symbolized by broadcast sowing) rather than specifically choosing who would receive the "seed" and who would be left out (which would be symbolized by drill patches.) It's not the sower that prevents the seed from taking root; it's the soil.
We are the soil. Within this parable, the path symbolizes transition and movement, a method used to pass through an area on the way to some other place. At no point does Jesus describe the path as "hard," an implication that the person's heart repels the message the Christ brought. He clearly indicates that the problem is that the person "hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it." The Greek word for "understand" in this passage is suniemi, primarily meaning to "bring together," both in a physical sense as well as in an intellectual capacity. The clear implication here isn't that the person comprehends the syntax of the Word, but that the Word does not become a part of who they are, that the message that Christ brought to us is not joined to them and fails to define their very existence.
The seed falling along the path represents someone who hears the Word, but doesn't make it a part of
who they are. They are still moving through life, still looking for meaning. They haven't reached a point
on their own journey where their personal soil is receptive to the Word. Jesus clearly indicates that the
problem isn't our ears, but our heart. He doesn't say that Satan blocks our ears from hearing the Lord
or our minds from comprehending the message. Christ specifically states, "When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart." (Matthew 13:19) If we remember 1 John 4:7-8, a passage that we return to again and again, we are reminded that "God is love." Love exists in our hearts so when we receive the Word we understand it, not in our minds, but in our heart. A person in transition, someone who is still searching for their place in this world where they can set down their roots, doesn't understand the message that they've been given. As Jesus clearly explains, they don't understand the implications of God's love, of the freedom, peace and joy that comes from personally knowing Christ and being filled with the love of God.
What can we do if we find ourselves in this position in our lives?
The first thing we need to do is to realize that if we keep searching, we will never put down roots. If we
keep looking for some elusive concept of fulfillment, we will never prepare the soil of our hearts to
understand (or "bring together" - suniemi) our lives and the love of God. We need to get off the path and into the garden if we expect to ever take root.
To do this is no more difficult than taking a long hard look at the contents of our own hearts. Jesus
explains in Mark 21-23, "What comes out of a man is what makes him 'unclean.' For from within, out of
men's hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit,
lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and make a man
'unclean.'" When we fill our lives with things other than love, what we're trying to do is fill the emptiness of our own
hearts and eliminate our own sense of incompleteness. We cultivate greed when we believe that acquiring "one more thing" will complete us. When we put someone down through slander or idly boast through arrogance, we're trying to boost our own self-esteem and self-worth, an attempt to fill a void in our hearts that can only be filled with love.
What we need to do is analyze the things we fill our lives with, where and how we spend our time. The things with which we fill our lives are the seeds we plant and cultivate in our own hearts. We absolutely do not need to spend every moment in prayer, Bible study and worship. What we absolutely need to do is begin acting, thinking and responding in love, for love is the very nature of God. By filling our hearts with love, we actively cultivate love in our hearts, filling ourselves with the very nature of God.
Rocky Places
The seed that falls amidst the rocky places is the first state of the heart where the Word of God is understood.
In fact, Jesus refers to it as, "the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy." The problem is, "since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the Word, he quickly falls away." (both Matthew 13:20-21)
If you've ever worked with rocky soil, the issue isn't that the rocks take up space and, by taking up room where there would otherwise be soil, they limit the nutrients available to the plant. The issue is that the rocks are obstacles. At best, the roots of the plants need to work around the rocks, accommodating their presence. To complicate the issue, the deeper you dig in rocky soil, the more saturated the earth comes with rocks. Unless the rocks are first removed, the roots will find easier directions in which to grow. Rather than digging deep into the earth, they will spread out, just
underneath the soil. And since they have no real purchase, they are easily toppled or uprooted.
If the nature of the path where the seed fell represents sin and a heart that has yet to understand the nature of the message that Jesus brought, then the rocky soil must represent another condition of the heart. As we've seen to this point in our studies of the Gospel of Mark, the message that Jesus brought contained two essential components - the all-encompassing power of God's love and the need for the people to live a life unbound by spiritual laws established by men. When we allow ourselves to become legalistic, when we allow ourselves to cultivate the spirit of the Pharisees, then the Word of God, which can only be love, is turned away by the "rocks" these laws place in our hearts. Rather than continually digging deeper, rather than us, the soil, welcoming a deeper and more comprehensive understanding of God's love, we begin limiting what God's love can be. And the tools that we use to limit a true understanding of God's love are the rocks that we leave in our soil, the hard, definitions and limitations that divert and limit the concept of love and, by extension, limit our understanding of God.
When a man leaves his soil in this state, with a heart filled with legalism and a restrictive definition of God's love, "When trouble or persecution comes because of the Word, he quickly falls away." But love is a limitless power. Love is the very nature of God. Someone who has removed the rocks, who has prepared the soil of their heart cannot fall. Paul wrote, "Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." (1 Corinthians 13: 8,13)
What we need to do when we find our hearts in this state is to simply let go of our preconceived ideas and love the person involved in the event that challenges us. In this way, we are relying not on our own strength, but on love - the very nature of God and a power that never fails. The simplest way to do this is to simply respond with kindness when we are challenged, to offer a kind and loving response rather than replying with anger, hatred, or maliciousness. "Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble. Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. For, 'Whoever would love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech. He must turn from evil and do good; he must seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the
Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against
those who do evil." (1 Peter 8:12)
When asked by a teacher of the law for the greatest commandment, Jesus answered, "The most important one, is this: 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. 'The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these." (Mark 12:29-31)
Among Thorns
From the moment that the Word is given to us, we have begun a process. First, we chose to live a life of love, leaving the emptiness of the path behind. Then we began to remove the rocks that separated us from the fullness of God's love. If you look at the words that Jesus used to describe each step, it is clear that he was speaking of a process of spiritual growth. First, we see a state of heart where a person "hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it." (Matthew 13:19) Then we find someone who understands the Word, "and at once receives it with joy. But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time." (Matthew 13:20-21) The next step in the journey would be someone who has removed the rocks and the message of God's love has taken deep root within their heart.
But there are still lessons to be learned and challenges to face.
"The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the Word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful." (Matthew 13:22) We see two challenges clearly described here. The first is "the worries of this life." The second, "the deceitfulness of wealth."
What we have to understand is that, unlike the two previous conditions of the heart, this is not a spiritually fatal condition. When our heart is like a path, "the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart." (Matthew 13:19) When our heart is littered with stones, the Word that is planted in us "lasts only a short time" and "quickly falls away." (Matthew 13:20-21) When we allow the thorns to crowd in on us, the "worries of this life" and "the deceitfulness of wealth" to occupy space in our hearts, it simply makes us unfruitful.
The key to this passage is in the nature of the thorns.
The first category of thorn are the worries of this life. Jesus clearly addressed this issue in depth in Matthew 6:25-34 when he said, "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? "
He continues in verse 28, saying, "And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."
The problem with the worries of this life is very simple - we're focusing on problems instead of focusing on God. Unlike the rocks that littered the soil of our heart, the thorns are seeds that take root within our soil, as surely as the Word of God took root. There are two and only two forces at work in this world of ours - love and fear. Love is the very nature of God; fear is the very nature of the enemy. For if God is love and, as Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 13:17 that love, "always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres," then love is not only the opposite of fear, but love eliminates fear. We fear what can harm us, but love protects us. Trust breeds security which is the absence of fear. When we fear from despair, it is eliminated by hope. When we are afraid of failure, that we won't fight the good fight and will eventually be overcome, that fear is nullified by remembering that love perseveres and "never fails." (1 Corinthians 13:8)
When we give ourselves over to the "worries of this life," we sow our hearts with fear. Fear is the seed that produces one of the thorns that will choke the Word in our lives and keep us unfruitful. All we have to do is live in love. Christ said, "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." When we live in love for our co-workers and employers our careers will thrive. When we live in love for our children, our families and homes will flourish. When we live in love for God and His Son, Jesus Christ, we will become the very embodiment of God's love and will be blessed continually by God as one of His children.
The other thorn that faces us is the thorn of the "deceitfulness of wealth." There is nothing wrong with being wealthy. In fact, 1 Timothy 6:17 reads, "Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share." The issue is allowing wealth to deceive us.
In Matthew 19:16-23 a rich young man comes to Jesus. The man had followed all of the
commandments Jesus had listed, including loving both God and his fellow man. Christ told him, ""If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." The Greek word for follow in this passage is "akoloutheo," meaning "to join one as a disciple." Christ literally invited this man to become one of his disciples but asked that the young man first sell his possessions and give them to the poor. "When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth."
In the end, the man's foundation was not built on God's love. He did not find his freedom from fear in the power of love, but in the illusionary security of great wealth. When we allow the deceitfulness of wealth to enter into our lives, we are allowing the seeds of the thorns to take root in the soil of our
hearts.
But wealth isn't necessarily a monetary concept. It's anything that defines our life to such an extent that we become a reflection of that concept rather than a reflection of God's love. It could be an image that we're trying to build, a career we're overly devoted to, even a ministry that causes us to act in anything other than love. That is the deceitfulness of wealth. It takes our focus off of God, it fills our hearts with a longing other than to be filled to overflowing with His love, and in the process, it robs us of the goodness of life and fills it with things that are here today and gone tomorrow.
To grow beyond this state, we must monitor the fruit we produce, not only to make sure it is good fruit, but that we are still producing it as this parable is a clear warning about being "unfruitful." Paul writes in Galatians 5:22-23 that, "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control." When we've reached this point in our growth in the Word, then we should be producing this fruit. If we're not or if the fruit we produced is lessened and replaced by other things, we need to find out what the root cause is and pull those thorns out of the soil of our hearts.
Good Soil
Do these things and we will be the good soil that the Word falls upon. Jesus said that such a person, "produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown." (Matthew 13:23) Not only will God's love multiply in our own hearts, but we'll be free of fear, of worry, fully focused on Him and living our life in abundance and in accordance to His will. The process is clearly lined out for us. All we have to do is prepare the soil of our hearts.