The Year of our Lord, Jesus Christ
Luke 8:11
Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.
Jesus makes one thing very clear. One thing that must always be kept in mind when thinking about the parable of the “Seed and Sower.” That one thing is…the seed is the Word of God. This parable is not concerned so much with the types of soil or even the type of fruit the good soil brings forth. It’s main teaching is the distribution of the word of God.
In the parable of the Seed and Sower there are four types of ground: hard packed, shallow, thorny, and good. The purpose of the story is not about how the soil became such, nor how to turn the three difficult types of soil into good soil. The purpose is to illustrate how the various soils react to the Word of God being planted in them as a seed.
There are not many seeds, various seeds, big seeds, or little seeds in this story. There is The seed. The seed is the Word of God. Every examination of this parable must begin and end with the seed. The seed of the Word of God has been preached, published, proclaimed, printed, and portrayed for over two thousand years of recorded History. The entire church era is earmarked by the distribution of the Word of God.
Every time a pastor preaches a sermon the Word of God goes forth into the world. Received by the ears of congregants, carried to their homes, schools, places of employment and the civic arena at large. Once there, the Word is further disseminated through the lives, and words, of those hearers to another audience of listeners, those who may never step foot in a church. Can the Word of God be planted in the hearts of others without words? Yes, a thousand times yes, this is perhaps the most powerful manner of conveying God’s teachings; living them.
The Gospel of course must be spoken and explained with words. However, it is the actions behind those words in the lives of believers that lends veracity to the Gospel Story. Whether spoken or lived, the Word of God is cast into the soil of every person’s heart in some manner. Some may disagree with that statement, but wait a moment, Romans 1:20 clearly states: For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: How are invisible things seen? Through parables in the Scriptures and through actions of God’s children.
Until Next Time,
William T. Howe, Ph.D.
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