Seeing myself in the parable of the sower

Hello, everyone. I’ve been taking a brief hiatus after I finished my final class for school, and in that time I’ve been keeping busy with some writing projects and looking for job openings in the ministry field. Here I am again, and if there’s anyone out there that reads what I have to write, I hope that God will bless my words so that they can make a difference to someone in some way or other. Anyway . . .

During the time I was taking ‘off’ from my online writing, I found myself thinking about and meditating a lot on the parable of the soils in the New Testament (Matthew 13:3-9, 18-23, NKJV). For anyone who might not be familiar with it, the parable reads like this:

“Behold, a sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them. Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth. But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away. And some fell among the thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them. But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”

Jesus’ explanation of the parable follows:

“Therefore hear the parable of the sower: 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 receive seed by the wayside. But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles. Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful. But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.”

I guess ever since I started to grow up in my faith and would hear that passage, I felt like I could identify with parts of it. I think I’ve always had a fair understanding of Scripture, so the enemy hasn’t been able to take the spirit of the Scriptures from me before I got a grasp of it. However, I have felt the other two part of the parable speaking to me and about me. Especially in the beginning of my walk with Christ, I felt like I would receive the message from God’s word with great joy and zeal, but admittedly troubles in life would drag me down and any hope I felt I had at effectively living and sharing God’s word became difficult to hold onto. More recently, I have felt like the third part of the parable sounded like me. Having finished school and earned my degree in ministry, I have been hoping that I would be able to concentrate more on strengthening my relationship with God and being productive for Him. Unfortunately, it seemed that inability (so far) to find a job in ministry and thereby to make enough money to make paying for my schooling less of a stretch, was going to steal any joy I could find in hearing God’s voice. The parable speaks of the ‘deceitfulness of riches’; I don’t really care about becoming rich, but then I suppose the story doesn’t necessarily have to mean excessive wealth. Just the concern for worldly finances can be a stumbling block for faith and fruitfulness for God, and I’ve been lacking in faith in God’s promise to provide.

Last week, I felt drawn to open the Book of Psalms, and from there I was drawn to the 63rd Psalm. The words reminded me of how important God is to me, and I felt the joy of my walk with Christ returning. For a time it felt like the enemy of God was setting me up for trouble and discouragement, but in reality, he can take away my joy for a little while, but he can’t keep God from filling me up again.

Maybe I will get the dream career I’m looking for, maybe I won’t. Maybe I’ll land some deals to get my writing projects published, and maybe I won’t. I don’t want to work until I either retire or can’t work anymore in a mediocre job I’m not crazy about, but whatever happens, I want to spend the rest of my life rejoicing in being a child of God and praising Him. Bearing fruit for God’s kingdom is hard work, there’s certainly no doubt about that, but I commit to using what I have been given to do the best I can.

If there is anyone who reads this and maybe has felt some of the things I’ve expressed here, by all means leave a comment or two. I like getting feedback, and the struggles in a person’s Christian walk become less and less when believers connect with one another for strength and support. Take care, and God bless.