The parable of the Sower is one of the more familiar
parables Christ taught (Matt 13:3-8). Like all parables, the story is relatively simple,
comes from real life experiences, and teaches a valuable lesson, which is that the
condition of a man’s heart (the soil) determines the fruitfulness of the seed
(the word of God).
While this parable is referring primarily to the Gospel and
the process of salvation, I think it’s acceptable to view the seed as representing
any spiritual truth…God’s truth as it relates to any aspect of life, not just
salvation. The whole of Christian life is one continuous and progressive response
to fresh spiritual revelation.
With that thought in mind, let’s see what the parable teaches
those of us desiring to walk in God’s
The fact that you are reading this indicates that your heart
has an interest in the things of God. Next is the rocky soil which represents
the shallow heart. This heart has an immediate and joyful, but short lived
response to truth. The shallow heart responds with an emotional burst, but dies
out quickly when problems arise. No fruit is brought to maturity, The third
soil is the thorny soil. The cluttered heart is one that is so full of
competing things the truth is choked out and is unproductive. Finally we hear
about the good soil. This soil is deep enough for germination to take place and
for adequate roots to develop. And because this soil lacks thorns, a fruit
bearing plant is the result. This is the productive heart. This is the heart
God wants each of us to possess.
To keep this devotional from becoming a sermon, I’m going to
focus on only one soil…the thorny. I have chosen this soil because it all too
often is a picture of my own heart and I know that I’m not alone. Jesus is very
specific as to what is represented by the thorns in the soil……worries of
the world, deceitfulness of wealth, and pleasures of this life.
The worries of the world represent the poverty stricken
person who is literally worried about getting enough food to maintain his
physical life. For us who are fortunate enough to not be in that situation, the
worries of this life represent the everyday problems encountered by humans living
in this fallen world. These may be small, irritating things like flat tires, demanding
clients, or they may be major issues with our health or family life. These are
thorns with the potential of destroying our response to God if we allow them to
do so. Christ also said the thorns represent the deceitfulness of wealth. Who us?
Just because we live in perhaps the most materialistic and
money worshiping society in history doesn’t mean we’ll be deceived by the
allure of wealth. Or does it? Wealth is deceiving because it promises us
happiness. In our society, we are constantly bombarded by the message that
money will bring us joy and fulfillment. Riches are deceitful because they
promise what they can’t deliver. Only God can give us true and lasting joy.
Only He can bring fulfillment to our lives. Buying into the world’s mentality by
pursuing wealth as the means to contentment is certain to result in spiritual
unfruitfulness.
What about the pleasures of this life? I can’t say it any
better than the following sermon excerpt: “Amusement should be used to do us
good like a medicine; it must never be used as food for the individual. From
early morning until late at night some spend their time in a round of
frivolities, or else their very work is simply carried on to furnish them with
funds for pleasure. This is an age of
excessive amusement. Everybody craves for it like a babe for its rattle.
In the more sober years of our fathers, men and women had better things to live
for than silly sports. The thorns are choking the age.”
That hits pretty close to home for most of us in today’s fun
seeking society. What’s really interesting about this statement is that it’s
found in a sermon delivered by Charles Spurgeon in 1888! If only Charles could
see us now!! God wants us all to be fruitful. He wants to see His truth grow
and mature in our hearts until a visible result is produced in our lives. His
truth, like Him, is constant. It never changes. What changes is our heart and
we alone are responsible for the condition of our heart.
We all know that a field, a garden, or a yard needs
attention to be maintained in a weed-free state. The same is true of our
hearts. We all need to be in a constant state of watchfulness to see that the
thorns of worry, money, and pleasure do not prevent God’s truth from having a
bountiful effect in our lives.
—Russ Sharrock
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