Matt 13:3-4
3 Then He spoke many things
to them in parables, saying: "Behold, a sower went out to
sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seed fell
by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them.
NKJV
Having grown up in church, I became familiar with the awesome and
miraculous teachings of the Bible at a
very young age. My faith reached the
place to receive Christ as Savior when I was five. In truth, I have never
really known a life apart from Jesus. For that, I am exceedingly grateful. But I am also aware that not one everyone was
blessed to have such opportunities early in life.
Many studies have shown that childhood is the prime time to win
people to Jesus. If they do not choose Him in their early years,
the likelihood that they will do so late,r goes down significantly. Why is that?
One of the things that I believe contributes to this
phenomenon is that a child's ability to believe is so much higher than
that of an adult. Children do not have
to understand every facet of a situation to just believe. Child-like faith is a beautiful thing, and one that we
should endeavor to cultivate throughout our lives.
Today's passage talks about a sower, or farmer, planting
seed. In this portion of Scripture, some
of the seed fell on the wayside. It was
not planted in holes or trenches, rather it was sown on top the ground. Because of that, the seed was easy prey for
birds to come along and snatch it up and eat it. In this parable, the seeds mentioned is the
truth about the Kingdom of God, or more specifically, that Jesus is Savior.
Further explanation is given in verse 18:
18 "Therefore hear the
parable of the sower: 19 When anyone hears the
word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one
comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he
who received seed by the wayside.
It is so vital that everyone have the opportunity to hear the
gospel message. Without that, how can
they ever hear, know, or understand that Jesus loves them and died to give them
life eternal? I have always been puzzled
about the various responses of people
when they hear truth. Some
readily receive it and are transformed immediately, others it takes a process,
while still others never choose to believe at all. The parable of the sower explains so
much about this process.
In light of today's verses, what is our duty as a Christian?
Foremost, our duty is to share the gospel.
We have to let people know what the Lord has done for us, within the
context of His Word. After that, I feel it is important that we
pray for those we are witnessing to, that God will prepare their hearts to
receive the seed of Truth. We must pray
that the Lord will plow up the soil of their hearts, that it will be softened
and prepared to receive it. Then we must
pray that it settles deeply within them.
Finally, we must pray against the
enemy stealing the truth from
them. Becoming a Christian is such a
supernatural phenomenon, that we can never leave out the importance of God's
divine involvement.
Another important thing to note is that we must share the truth in
a way that people can understand. To
tell a person who has never been in church a day in their life that that they are a
wretched sinner, bound for hell
unless they receive Christ's atonement for their sin and be redeemed, is
like speaking a foreign language to them.
"Christianese" is not a universal language! What people can understand is that they do not do everything right, that Jesus
died to cancel the penalty of that sin and offers them a relationship with Him instead of an
eternity apart from Him.
As you witness, pray that the Lord will give you wisdom in your
words to speak in the language of your hearer.
If it is an educated person, your approach will be different than with a
simple or illiterate person. Both are equally valuable, but the soil must
be prepared differently!
Dear Lord, help me to have an
effective witness. Show me who to share
with, and grant me wisdom and favor to sow seeds that they can understand and
receive. In Jesus' Name. Amen.
