Mark 4:13-20 Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable? The farmer sows the word. Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop — thirty, sixty or even a hundred times what was sown.”
In this world, people are found in all kinds of environments when the Holy Spirit sows God's seed in their lives. Some are on hard ground. They are in a culture, a society, where the rain of God's blessing, his Word, finds no place to take root so close to the busy path of daily living. The fertile soil is lacking in these environments, and what soil there is has been beaten down by the many evil practices inculcated in the daily routine of the people. Idol worship; demonic possessions; slavery of men, women, and children; sexual promiscuity are indicative of very hard ground. The spiritual ears of these people have been enslaved by the devil himself so that when the blessed rain of God falls from heaven and God speaks to them through his Word, they are unable to understand, making it impossible for their lives to flower for God. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. (Matthew 5:45) But because their motivations and their deeds are nurtured by the elements of this world they produce no fruit that is pleasing to God. Every plant requires good soil, water, and sunlight. Jesus said, This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God. (John 3:19-21) Those who cannot receive the Word of God also reject his light.
Another environment that might be considered more acceptable to receiving God's precious rain is the soil considered rocky. This soil is comparable to foxhole conversions. People reach out to God because they find themselves in a difficult situation that seems impossible to eradicate, perhaps imminent death; consequently, they turn to the supernatural. They receive God's intervention with great joy, making promises to serve him in return. They accept fully the blessings from God, but when their lives experience other rocky situations, other hardships, which seem not to ameliorate when they call upon God, they quickly abandon him. They abandon God's Word, his presence, and his reality in their lives. They fail to endure to the end, to mature, to produce fruit that will please God. And they never did get around to keeping their promises about serving him. Their relationships with God were all about receiving: they had no roots in the Lord. Crowds of people followed Jesus, but one time He said this to them: I tell you the truth, you are looking for me, not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. (John 6:26-27) He was saying that they were following him because they were hungry and He gave them food for their natural bodies; but He wanted to give them the bread of life that would bring them life everlasting.
The third environment in the parable consists of extremely fertile ground that allows the seed to sprout and to grow rapidly. However, the seeds of the Spirit do not abide alone in the soil, and everything else in this ground of freedom grows rapidly too. No gardener comes to weed the garden to protect the good seed. Soon the positive lay of the land produces many thorns, and they grow quickly, enticing the believers away from the truth. Rather than allowing God alone to sustain them, to mature them in this life, they look around them for other experiences to satisfy the hunger in their souls. They spend their time tasting the refreshments of the world, desiring the wealth and the material goods the world has to offer them, adding new experiences and pleasures to their lives, becoming more concerned with eating, drinking, and entertainment than they are with God's Word, his presence, his blessings. They allow God's rain to be wasted on themselves extravagantly in spurts here and there, instead of steadily allowing the Spirit to guide and teach them the truth. They become vaccinated Christians, carrying his name but not his experiences. They minds turn away from heaven to their earthly desires. They do not think of serving God or others. By doing so, they produce little or no fruit that is pleasing to God. In his letter to the Philippians, Paul describes well those who have chosen such a path: For, as I have often told you before and now say again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things. (Philippians 3:18-19)
Conversely, there is a fertile, committed environment that produces abundant fruit for God. The people planted in this soil die completely to the world and its pleasures. They strive to please God in all they do by yielding to the Holy Spirit as their guide. Their ears are attuned to the Holy Spirit's voice and they are yielded to the Father's plan. They follow God in their daily lives, allowing the Holy Spirit to keep the soil free from weeds and fertile with the rain from above, the Word of God. A song of praise to God is constantly on their lips. They enjoy the community of believers, cherishing the fellowship of the brethren. They live to love and to serve others, even their enemies. These people are God's beloved, his adopted sons and daughters, who endure to the end. They endure through hardships, enticements, distractions, discouragements, sorrow, and death. They live for Christ and for him alone. They do not add anything to the gospel of Christ because they know their lives are hidden with Christ in God, and they are rooted and grounded in him. Because they are found IN HIM, they produce much fruit that is pleasing to their Father in Heaven. Their lives display the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. When each of them stands before the Father someday, He will bless his beloved one, saying, "Well done, good and faithful servant."
Precious breakfast companions, we pray that all who are around this table are immersed in the body of Christ. No other life fully sustains us. No other life brings fruit to bless and to honor our Father in heaven. We do not want to be Christians in name only, merely vaccinated against hell. The life that pleases God produces fruit, thirty, sixty or even a hundred times what was sown. We died WITH CHRIST on the cross; we are alive IN CHRIST in the resurrection. IN HIM, WE ARE SEATED TOGETHER WITH CHRIST IN HEAVENLY PLACES, EVEN AT THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD.
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