Luke 8:4-5a - Sower, Seed, and Soil

Luke 8:4-5a (ESV)

[4] And when a great crowd was gathering and people from town after town came to him, he said in a parable, [5] “A sower went out to sow his seed.

Jesus told the parable of the Sower, the Seed, and the Soil. Having been asked by his disciples what the parable meant, he went on to explain it. “The seed is the word of God” (vs 11). The soils describe different types of people and their responses. There are those who don’t believe because the devil “takes away the word from their hearts” (vs 12). They don’t receive the word at all. There are those who seem to receive the word but fall away when they face testing and difficulty. The third group receives the word, but there is little fruit, and it does not mature because of “the cares and riches and pleasures of life” (vs 14). Finally, there are those who receive the word and “hold it fast in an honest and good heart and bear fruit with patience” (vs 15).

In the first two groups the word does not take root. We often grieve the first group that does not hear the word at all, but we celebrate the second group because they appear to believe. This category may describe many of those who have walked away from their faith in recent years. The word has no real root in their lives and when faced with things in life they cannot make sense of, they walk away.

The third group is the most discouraging. The word takes root, but the fruit never matures because they are distracted by the world. Our churches are full of these. In fact, we ought to often check our own hearts to make sure we are not thorny soil. What is it that really motivates us? What is it we love? What do we crave? Is our fruitfulness being “choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life?” What delights God are those who hold fast to the word and “bear fruit with patience.” Father may that be true of me.