Sow What?

Jesus, in His unique style of choosing everyday things to awaken spiritual understanding, speaks to the rural crowds about principles of farming. His story was simple, direct and familiar. Farming itself was not hard for them to grasp, but it was the understanding of the parable, in the light of the Kingdom of God, that was utterly lost on the majority. Most “missed it” and ironically, this parable is all about making sure you “get it”. Jesus’ teaching was life changing for hearers who revealed some aptitude and hunger for spiritual revelation and application, but for the majority spiritual deafness kept them from its blessing. Sadly, it is much the same today and we need to discover why as we study the Parable of the Sower.

This is actually much more than a personal study; it is a life-changing experience, written with the desire to see believers seriously and intentionally evaluate their own process of discipleship. Equally, it was written to encourage believers to share spiritual things, naturally and regularly, with discussion centred on the shared study. What we learn on our own is confirmed, and comes to life, when we share it with others. I want to stimulate corporate discipleship where it is not all about “me” and what God is only doing “in me”. Discipleship involves belonging to one another and growing stronger together in belief and faith in Jesus. This level of fellowship adds fuel to kindling wood, creating a fire. I hope it will stimulate lively interaction and forge a deep mutual love and respect.

Believers meet for many reasons, such as a meal, camping, cycling, walking, visiting a beautiful garden, and going to the theatre or a concert. All these activities are lovely and good but we also need to rediscover the depth of joy and freedom that comes only when we intentionally invest time and money in mutually sharing about the impact of God’s living Word on our lives. This is not just discussing a passage of Scripture; it is wrestling deeply with truth to the point of inner transformation by the Holy Spirit. There are plenty of good Bible studies out there that appeal to our minds, but far less discipleship material that challenge our hearts to change.

For many years, I observed with secret envy and a mocking spirit, those who were experiencing spiritual richness; they didn’t just have Bible knowledge, they possessed that vibrant life illusive to me. It was obvious that their growth was not plucked out of the air or visited upon them randomly. This was no half-baked commitment; they devoted themselves to God’s Word and prayer, zealous to let the Lord shape and change their heart. When they shared insights from the Bible it was full of life, it wasn’t a dry theory. They increased financial giving to sacrificial levels and looked to give away possessions to help others. It was never too much to give up a Saturday to serve someone else. To be holy was something they prized and were never ashamed. To be distinct from the world was an honour. Clearly, they were experiencing a depth of relationship with God I knew little about, but I was magnetically drawn to them; I wanted what they had.
In those days, I learned the most valuable lesson of my life and it was this: observation of and desire for growth were not enough. If I wanted what they possessed, I would have to engage with the Word and “put my own hand to the plough”. I was spiritually lazy, so, to receive such spiritual blessing by some sort of transference would have been just the ticket! But, it wasn’t going to happen that way. God had a discipleship training school tailor-made for me, and it started with counting the cost. Discipleship costs everything. Is it worth it? When you experience the joy of thirtyfold, sixty and a hundredfold return you never ask that question again!
The radical change began with some targeted “ground clearance”.

If the seed God is sowing is all that the Bible declares it to be, why do we find ourselves often unaffected, indifferent, and unchanged? Where does the problem lie? We surely have to draw the conclusion, that if there is nothing faulty or inadequate about God’s seed, the problem lies with the soil in which the seed has been sown, the condition of our heart. Not too many believers want to look at the condition of their hearts and face heart issues, but according to the Parable of the Sower spiritual growth is wholly dependent on their doing exactly that.

If, in this season of discipleship, we determine to apply Jesus’ farming principles to spiritual growth, we must be prepared to accept the exposing power of God’s seed. There may well be some very challenging soil problems to look at and acknowledge, but be absolutely assured that Jesus’ heart is full of love for us. He will never expose our heart to betray, put us down, embarrass or shame. He exposes the motivations, intentions and deceptions of our heart only to bring us to freedom, healing, and full reconciliation with God our Father, with ourselves, and with others. Thankfully, He is the One who examines our hearts and it is only He who knows how to turn over the soil with tender care and bring precision healing. Discipleship is all about transformation of the heart.
The Parable of the Sower makes us face the hardness, rocks and thorns, because Jesus loves us, and longs to bring healing and reconciliation. We all have negative “stuff” that clutters our hearts, which, for one reason or another, we have never brought to the cross and brought under the blood of Jesus. We are saved, but we still carry what Hebrews 12:1 calls “every weight and the sin which so easily entangles us”, which we should “lay aside”. So few of us have ever been discipled in how to identify what entangles our hearts, let alone how to “lay it aside”. Even after being a Christian for many years, we are still weighed down and “running the race that is set before us” (Hebrews 12:1) with a limp! Spiritual growth is a long way behind where it should have been by now.
We all have reaction “buttons” that get pressed in adverse and stressful situations, causing varying degrees of internal and external “volcanic eruptions”. Our reactive behaviour and attitudes betray what we carry on the inside. They reveal what we have chosen to “live with” rather than “lay aside”, and, everyone closely involved feels the negative impact of it. Satan loves to nurture his own seeds in our lives, and he will do anything to cause us to justify and maintain ungodly attitudes and behaviour, thus keeping us from the cleansing and healing power of the blood of Jesus. Make no mistake, Satan’s plan is to kill, rob and destroy believers (John 10:10). Our loving God longs to root out and cleanse, redeem and restore, because He knows that this will intimately draw us together with Him in full and complete reconciliation.