Luke 8:4-15 And when much people were gathered together, and were come to him out of every city, he spake by a parable: A sower went out to sow his seed: and as he sowed, some fell by the way side; and it was trodden down, and the fowls of the air devoured it. And some fell upon a rock; and as soon as it was sprung up, it withered away, because it lacked moisture. And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprang up with it, and choked it. And other fell on good ground, and sprang up, and bare fruit an hundredfold. And when he had said these things, he cried, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. And his disciples asked him, saying, What might this parable be? And he said, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand. Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away. And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection. But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.
This morning the Lord contrasted the parable of the sower with a passage from the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5:44-48. He specifically pointed out the phrase: “The Lord sends rain on the just and the unjust.” Of course, both sun and rain are needed in order for a plant to grow. Do not therefore be surprised when the rain starts to fall. To good soil and a growing plant, rain is a blessing. To rocky, thorny, or hard ground it is a tempest. I reflected on different types of soil I have worked in, some is naturally better than another; however, all soil can be improved with hard work. Jesus is willing to partner with us to do that hard work in us to make us into good soil. Just as there is a yielding required by the soil for the rain to be good, we must be yielded for the storms of life to do their work in us. We are like that plant, growing up into maturity. Some are firmly rooted, grounded in the depths of God’s principles, brought up to know the Father and nourished in His presence. Others are spindly and unhealthy with poor soil and a bad environment. There is no darkness which God cannot make light and there is no sin which God cannot make right. No matter where you find yourself, It is the grace of God to partner with us to bring about the change needed to make us into good soil: our only requirement is to yield.
Yielding Prayer:
Father, different parts of me resonate with different aspects of the ground. Each type of soil is alive and well in me. There are places where I am good soil, but if I am honest, there are also places in me where the soil is compacted: areas where I have been trampled by others which have forced me to feel that I must push others away in order to self protect. Father, there are places in me which are stony ground, full of rocks which represent the corruption of lies I have believed and have not yet been cleaned out of my life. There are also places in me that are full of thorns, areas I have allowed bondage to choke your Holy Word out of my life. Father, you are the husbandman. (John 15:1) It is you who hold all power to make the decisions about how I, the branch, should be pruned. I submit today to your work in my life. I now partner with Jesus and give my full permission for him to till up every area of my life. Jesus, I submit fully to your work of tilling, raking, and weeding as you see fit. Make me more like you and help me to trust you when the rain falls and the storm buffets me. I put my trust in you today to prepare me for the way ahead.