A Seed of Truth-Part 1

“And He spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow;” Matthew 13:3

Jesus sure knew how to talk to folks in simple, everyday language.  Some folks like to use what we call “big” words to impress us as to how much they know, but if we do not know what these “big” words mean, then we turn them off.  What good are “big” words if we don’t understand what these folks are saying?  I would rather listen to someone who was more interested in getting across their point or explaining a situation in ordinary terms than for him or her to talk over my head.  On the other hand, though, it is good to increase our vocabulary.  There are some writers online who use words of which I am not familiar, but sometimes I get out my trusty old Webster’s and look them up.    One of the words that I learned was “ubiquitous” which means “present everywhere at the same time”.  It is another word for “omnipresent”, one of the descriptions of the Lord.  Not only is He omnipresent, He understood the value of speaking in simple, understandable terms.  A simple familiar illustration can be worth far more than a thousand-word formal dissertation when endeavoring to teach a truth to others.  Amen to that!

The people of Jesus’ day mostly grew their own crops thus they were very familiar with planting seeds.  As Jesus began His parable, He used the example of seeds, all the same kind, but four different soils in which they were sown.  As the farmer walked along his fields, some of the seeds fell out of his seed bag and landed by the wayside, the edge of the field.  Since these seeds were easy to spot by the birds, they were soon gobbled up.  Other seed fell on stony ground.  Have you ever tried to plant seeds or shrubbery in an area that is full of rocks?  You have to remove the rocks in order to make the soil soft enough to plant.  Rocky soil is hard.  The seed might manage to sprout, but cannot develop a strong root system.  When the hot sun shines down, the plant withers and dies.

There was another area where some of the seeds fell, but this area was filled with thorn bushes.  How annoying it is to have crops or flowers overtaken by weeds which will eventually choke out that which was planted.  It takes a lot of back-breaking work to rid the soil of all of these weeds.  One has to be diligent with their farming or gardening if he or she desires a healthy crop.  All three of these poor locations were areas where the seed fell and was not planted down into rich soil.  However, there was an area called the “good ground” where the seed germinated, grew, spreading out the roots, absorbing the nutrients and rainwater, and producing a healthy crop.  All the seeds did not produce the same amount, though.  I suppose, like people, no two seeds are exactly alike.

Later, the disciples asked Jesus why He spoke to the people in parables.  Jesus answered by telling them that the people did not have the privilege of understanding the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but the disciples did have that privilege (Matthew 13:11).  Because Jesus could read the hearts of the people, He knew it was futile to bestow generous gifts of spiritual knowledge and insight to those who would trample them or use them to bring glory to themselves.  Jesus had said earlier in His Sermon on the Mount to “Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you” (Matthew 7:6).  How do we know to whom we should share God’s word and to whom we shouldn’t?  I think after a few minutes of conversing with someone, the Holy Spirit will let us know whether to share or not and our own spiritual insight can help us discern the situation.  God’s word is sacred and is not to be handled in an irreverent way.  If we are desirous to know God’s word, then we should consider ourselves blessed that God would entrust us with His precious word.

Jesus, knowing that the people were not really interested in changing their lives (because He is also omniscient), said that they listened to His words, but they didn’t really hear Him.  Does this not sound like our world today?

Next time:  A Seed of Truth-Part 2:  The Parable Explained