This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God.
Luke 8:11
We began examining the parable of the sower yesterday. We started with the generosity of the sower. Although the Bible never tells us who this sower is, his action is noteworthy. Every type of soil had a chance to receive a seed. Today, we’ll briefly examine the seed itself. Jesus said, “The seed is the word of God.”
Seeds are full of life. Despite our scientific understanding, seeds are a mystery to us. Seeds have the power to grow on their own accord. The seed has power embedded in it!
Jesus illustrates how the sower scatters his seed and then goes about his daily business. Slowly, imperceptibly, the seed begins to sprout. The farmer doesn’t know how this happens nor can he control the process.
Jesus is explaining to listeners that the kingdom of God is a divine work, not a human achievement. This is reinforced in a separate parable about the mustard seed. God brings about the growth of His kingdom, and at times it is imperceptible. We can cooperate, by spreading the “seeds” of the gospel of the Kingdom, but God brings the growth and He will eventually harvest at the end of the age.
I planted the seed in your hearts, and Apollos watered it, but it was God who made it grow. It’s not important who does the planting, or who does the watering. What’s important is that God makes the seed grow.” (1 Cor. 3:6-7 NLT)
We learn from the Parable of the Sower that the Good soil of our heart (Mark 4:20), hears the word, accepts it, and bears fruit. Although it’s the seed (word) itself which is actively at work. The seed, God’s Word, has power—life in it. For example, 1 Peter 1:23, “having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever…”
Knowing that the seed which is the word of God has power in itself to grow, gives us confidence that as we go out to share the word of God with people, we must have faith that this word itself has the capacity to change them. On the surface, they may appear to have a distracted wayside heart, or an entangled thorny heart, but we are rest assured that the word will germinate. All we have to do is share the word and commit the rest to the Holy Spirit to work on their heart.
Just like the seed grows almost across all the soil types, we can be sure that the seed of God’s word will grow wherever we sow it, although the soil type is important in determining how much fruit can come from it, there is not much control that we have over that. Since the “king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will (Proverbs 21:1). We might as well let the Lord take care of the heart. Our job is to sow, let the sowing begin now.
PRAYER
Heavenly Father, help me obey you by sowing your word in the hearts of men, and trust that you will do the work of changing them. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
