Wed Inspiration

Morning Inspiration with Pastor Merritt

The story is very simple. It is simply about a farmer who goes out into the field and sows some seed. That seed falls on different types of soil. The quality of the soil determines whether or not the planting of that seed is successful and produces a harvest. If you listen carefully to what I just said, you recognize there are three major components of the parable. There is the sower, the seed, and there is the soil. Before we read the parable let me identify what each of these three represent, because Jesus tells us. The sower is the Christ follower – the disciple – you and me. The seed is the Word of God – the message of the kingdom and salvation. The soil is the heart of the missing person that we are trying to reach. Keep that in mind as we read this parable.

“That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. And great crowds gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat down. And the whole crowd stood on the beach. And he told them many things in parables, saying: ‘A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away. Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears, let him hear.’” (Matthew 13:1-9)

It is very obvious where the focus of the parable is. The focus is not on the sower. He is not even identified. The focus is not on the seed. It is just scattered. The focus is on the soils. The soils are the only variable in the story. The sower doesn’t change. The seed doesn’t change and the only variable determining failure or success is the soil on which the seed falls. In other words, the one thing that determines success and evangelism is not the sower or the seed, but the soil. It is not the messenger and not the message. It is the receptivity of the missing person that determines whether or not our evangelistic efforts are successful.

You will notice there is nothing wrong with the sower or how he sows the seed. It is not his method. There is nothing wrong with the seed. It is not that he has bad seed. There is nothing wrong with the composition of the soil. The problem is the condition of the soil. Right here we find the point of the parable and the key take away. Key Take Away: Our part is to sow. God’s part is to grow. Let me put it to you another way. We can do our part, but only God can reach the heart. God won’t do our job – we are to sow. We can’t do His job – He is to grow. We learn that in the interpretation that Jesus himself gives this parable. There are always three players in evangelism: you, the missing person, and God.