Luke 8:11‭-‬15 Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.  The ones along the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved.  And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy. But these have no root; they believe for a while, and in time of testing fall away.  And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature.  As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience.
I have heard this parable so many times that it is difficult for me not to just glaze over it. However, when I do look at it with a fresh mind it is amazing what God can do with it. First off “Those by the wayside” we know that these had not yet believed when the devil takes the Word out of there hearts, but rather that they were just pondering the Word and not putting their faith in it which as we see is a dangerous place to be. Next “the ones on the rock” they remind me of someone who hears the Gospel and believes it, but then refuses to be disciplined and continues to walk in their “freedoms” until they finally get tired of doing things in their own strength and then turn away from the gospel completely. Then there's “the ones that fell among the thorns” these ones are like the seed that fell among the rocks in that they don't seek discipleship, but rather just the hype of going out and preaching the Gospel. Which is interesting because they themselves don't take the time to marinate in the gospel and let the power of it fill their lives. In the past I was much like this group, all I wanted to do is go out into the world and tell everyone about Jesus, but I didn't want to make the sacrifices that went with it and because of that I got burnt out. The last group “the ones that fell on the good ground” these are who we all as Christians are called to be. Whether in the past we identified with the other groups or not Jesus calls us all to be like this last one.


//\\Application//\\

This week I will pray and ask God to make me more like the good soil and believe in faith that He has.

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