In the parable, the farmer willingly scatters the seed on soil he knows is unproductive. God allows His words and His opportunity for a relationship to fall on people who will not receive Him. God has abounding love for the unreceptive heart. He sows even if the intended receiver never welcomes the seed.

 

The parable shows the hindrances to kingdom growth as well as the victory of the kingdom. The sower is the sharer of the Good News. Sharers take many forms…a relative, a friend, a coworker, a neighbor, as well as a preacher, teacher, or missionary. Each person is responsible to the next generation to share the Word in her arena of influence. You and I are called to sow liberally and to never hoard the seed from soil that we deem as unworthy or as a waste of a toss of the seed. 

 

Let’s examine the 3 types of soil that did not receive the seed.

 

The first place the seed fell was on the path which represents people with hard hearts. The dastardly thief stole the seed. In verse 12, Jesus tells us that the path represents people who hear, but the devil comes and takes away the Word from their hearts so that they may not believe and be saved. The Greek word for “take away” is airo,and it means “to lift, carry, take up or away.” We have the image of a bird swooping in and seizing the seed that it knows is life sustaining. The ground did not welcome it, esteem it, absorb it, and guard it from the treacherous thief, the devil. The hater of men’s souls, satan is ravenously hungry to thwart the growth of the kingdom. God’s Word gives us numerous reasons why satan desires to steal the Word before we internalize it, chew on it, and meditate on it. After satan swooped a Word from me many times, I realized I must write it down and review it later. I have used receipts, napkins, etc. Once we claim it, satan can’t steal it.

 

The second place the seed fell was in the rocks representing people with shallow hearts. These people are the ones who receive the Word with joy but during a time of testing, they fall away for they have no root. They forget God; therefore, their hope will perish under a trial. They are oblivious to Him. They paid no attention to this invitation of relationship, although they received the seed of His Word joyfully. They are like the people in the crowds who were amazed at Jesus’ teaching. They were excited because no one had ever spoken with so much authority. However, it did not mean enough for them to remember Him and to apply the Word to their lives.

 

Disciples who really love God never forget Him. They can’t get their minds off of Him. They think of Him fondly and often. They might live by the verse, “I think of You through the watches of the night”(Psalm 63:6). They remember how sweet He has been. They meditate on how much they can trust Him with their future. They place their hope in Him. Sometimes in my prayer time, I recount to Him my own version of Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s poem, “How Do I Love Thee? Let me count the ways...”

 

The third place the seed fell was in the thorns which represent people whose hearts have been strangled by the distractions of this world. These people are stifled by competing worries and desires. They can get caught by the deceitfulness of riches and a materialistic culture. They gradually fall away over time as they allow these attention grabbers to rule. We have studied already how the snares of wealth and worry can consume us. The briars and thorns can cover our minds, keep us from the Gospel, or keep us from growing a deeper relationship with Christ. This kind of woman is too distracted by the world’s pull. She may utter the words, “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven” from Matthew 6:10, but her choices and actions reflect her true self. She will never fulfill the plan God has laid out for her in heaven. An unsnared believer has more than head knowledge of God. Christ is never second in her affections. She is intentional and committed to her daily relationship with God.