Which Seed Are You?

Matthew 13:1-23

I slept so much last night it's ridiculous. I think I slept a total of 11 hours. Is that even possible? I don't know what it was but I couldn't even wake up. Good thing I didn't have a whole lot to do. I ended up having to do a lot of work in between classes, but they weren't that big of a deal. But 11 hours!!! I'm like tired from sleeping, if any of you guys know what that feels like.

Today was cold and as I was bundling up, I decided, man I need to start working out. I haven't done so in a while and my excuse was the cold. It's too much of a hassle going out to go work out. But I will do it starting tomorrow. This is all for the better. So if you see me this week, ask me if I worked out today so I can feel guilty if I didn't. Another thing I have to work on is managing money. I have been eating out way too much since the semester started. I need to do less of that.

Parable of the Sower
Reading: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=matthew%2013:1-23;&version=31;

The reading today is a popular one. That does not mean it should not be studied. In fact, we probably have to look into it deeper. And so I wanted to cover only this parable for today.

The first thing to cover is the question the crowd had. When Jesus spoke, He spoke in parables. And this was rather confusing to them. By the way, before I continue, I do want to raise a question about Jesus speaking from the boat. I heard from someone that this was rather strategic because the wind blows towards the shore and so if Jesus stood on the boat and the crowd on shore, that would have carried His voice to more people. That's what I thought it was, I just needed some verification on that. This isn't anything important though.

Jesus gives us an answer as to why He speaks in such a fashion. Those who have the ears, the eyes, and the heart will understand His message, regardless of how He delivers it. He can be speaking in some funky language and those who receive Him will still understand it. It is a secret of heaven, as He states. Thus, if we truly understand His word and live to it, then we'll know why. He then praises those who are able to do this because there are even teachers of the law that want this gift. Do we understand and hear to this extent? That gives me all the more reason to look deeper into these parables and not just take them for stories that give us a life lesson. Jesus has a valuable secret embedded in them. I hope I can understand them the way He wanted us to.

The parable then. This parable about the seeds is rather simple, but in no way does that take anything away from His point of it. Basically He lists four types of listeners to His word. I make a list here with description:

1.) Seed On Path - These are listeners who listen to the word, but do not understand it. Thus, when some evil comes along, they lose it.

2.) Seed On Rocky Soil - These are listeners who listen to the word and accept it with joy. However, their roots are shallow and their foundation is weak. Thus, any troubles they face make them lose it.

3.) Seed Amongst Thorns - These are listeners who listen to the word, accept it, and understand it. Yet, they are choked with worries and other values in life. Thus, they produce bad fruit.

4.) Seed On Good Soil - These are listeners who listen to the word, accept it, and understand it. They live by it and produce good fruit.

Now it is a no-brainer on what we should strive to be, and that's the 4th one. The question though is where are we at, and how do we get to 4? I went through each scenario and thought about what I could do. I also thought of some people I love and cherish in my life that may fall into some of these categories and prayed that they can make the necessary changes so they can make it to 4. Here's what I thought:

1.) Seed On Path - Again these are people who hear the word and lose it to evil because they don't fully understand it. I think for the most part these include people who have not yet accepted Christ. They can be atheists, agnostics, or even people who kind of believe in God, but more on the "not" side. I think the important thing to do here is to find out more and more about it. I think the first thing I would do is read. There is no risk in it other than time, really. If it mattered to you this much, though, then I don't see an excuse in it. Reading the Bible is one of the biggest things you can possibly do. After I've read and seen why Christians make a big deal out of it, then I study it. You cannot argue against it if you don't know anything about it. That goes both ways by the way. You cannot defend it if you don't know anything about it either. So please, just read it. It won't hurt, I promise. Hopefully it will help in getting to the right direction.

2.) Seed On Rocky Soil - People who accept it gladly at first, but lose it because of the lack of foundation. This one is a struggle and it may even be the most popular one. But the solution is rather simple I think. Study. Really. Study. The only reason I can see for the lack of foundation is because we don't know anything to build that foundation. It is tough to build a foundation when all you do is go to church on Sunday, receive the word, be happy you received it, then the next day you're back to being lost. Make an effort. Build a foundation on rocks so it may endure the troubles and the word you so gladly accepted will remain with you.

3.) Seed Amongst Thorns - These are people who accept the word and understand it. Yet, struggles, worries, and other values conflict with it. And thus, we cannot produce the good fruit that we need to produce. As a seed amongst thorns, you probably love God and praise God, but so many other things in life hinder us. I can't find an easy solution to this really other than to put all our faith in God. All our worries will be taken care of. We really need a strong foundation and a strong faith. We really need to be able to trust that God will take care of things and all we need to do is what we're told.

Which seed am I? I would have to say a mix of 2 and 3. I've been the second one for quite some time (especially all throughout jr. high and high school) but have found a joy in reading the word. I still struggle though and am in the middle of building that strong foundation needed to fight the good fight. Worries are quite common amongst people at my age. With the economy being crappy and my future unclear, it is so easy to be in those thorns. It's tough. I admit it. But that's why I need to keep learning and praying. I hope to make more progress.

Summary:

Parable Of The Sower
1-2 Jesus sat on a boat to speak to the crowd because the crowd so large. He spoke in parables.
3-9 He said a farmer sowed his seed and some went fell on the path, where birds ate them, some fell on rocky soil, where it sprang up quickly because of the lack of soil and then withered because they had no roots, some fell among thorns, where the plants choked, and some fell on good soil, where it produced good crop. He told everyone to listen.
10-14 The crowd asked why He spoke in parables. Jesus replied that the secrets have been given and whoever has them will keep them while those who don't will lose what they have. They do not truly see or hear. This is part of the prophecy of Isaiah.
15-17 Jesus said that because the people have shut their ears and eyes, their hearts have been calloused. If they did opened their ears and eyes they would have understood with their hearts and been healed by Him.
18-23 Jesus describes His parable. The seeds on the path are those who listen to the word and don't understand it. Thus, the evil takes it away. The seeds on the rocky soil receive the word gratefully, but don't have a root deep enough to keep it. The seeds amongst thorns receive the word but worries of life make it unfruitful. The ones on good soil take the word, understand it, and produce good.