Luke 8:4-8 While a large crowd was gathering and people were coming to Jesus from town after town, he told this parable: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds of the air ate it up.
11-15: “This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God. Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved.
Genesis 3:1-5 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’” “You will not surely die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
In the above passage, Jesus does not tell us how the devil takes away the word from the hearts of men. But realistically, the devil uses other people to steal the heard word from men's heart. He is not incarnated in men, but his spirit influences and uses men. His spirit from the beginning has always been one of self-rule, self-determination, which coincides very well with man's basic nature since the fall.
The seed on the side of the road never germinates, never sprouts life. The seed, or people, on the side of the road do hear the word, but they never allow it to germinate in their hearts, for they are influenced by other worldly people and by the spirit of self. "Don't listen to that Christian stuff. You'll become some sort of geek. You'll never have any fun in life if you let that kind of thinking take root in your life. There is nothing to it." These words of the blind and the hopeless trample or snuff out the good seed; therefore, it doesn't germinate, and the word of God never takes root in the hearers' lives.
There are many on the side of the road. There are many who never allow God to establish his life inside of their hearts and minds. Their busy lives, their entertainment, their hobbies, their search for security all drown out his compelling voice. And within this context, the devil tells them through the influences of others and within their own spirits, "Don't pay attention to the words that you are hearing from God. Don't assess the value of your life beyond today's experiences, activities and thoughts. Don't look to the future. Don't look to the reason you are here for such a short time. Just drink, party and be happy, for tomorrow you may die." When people follow these entreatments of fleshly thinking, the devil prevents the words of God from germinating in their lives; he steals life from them. Sadly, these lives without germination become carrion, food for the devil. He rejoices to know that God will never hear the praises of those who fell by the side of the road.
Yes, the devil has come to rob and to steal those who were made in God's image. He enjoys repeatedly asking, “Did God really say that you can't rule your own life, do your own thing? Did he really say that you should be obedient to his will? Don't you know if you live your life for yourself that it will be fulfilling, that your eyes will be opened?" All of his words lead to death. There is no life germinated from his words, only death. However, the word of light and life is still the message that can be heard by all human beings, either inside themselves as they view the intrincasies of nature as stated in Romans one, or as the message of the "good news" is proclaimed by Christians or seen in God's written Word. God is calling humanity. Let us pray that those on the side of road will hear and be germinated. Let us pray that their land will be fallow, ready to accept the seed of God gladly.
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