| Seeding the Sidewalk |
|
| |
Why would a farmer spread seed on a path? It happens. When farmers would broadcast seed by hand in the old days, there was often a bit of spillover into unusable areas. Jesus said that the kingdom of heaven is like a farmer sowing seed on a path. What did that mean?
Seed that falls on a path will probably just be eaten by birds. Jesus explained that when he is preached, some people don't understand it because their hearts are as hard and unreceptive as a footpath. Telling certain people about Jesus can be as unsuccessful as sowing a crop on a walkway. It is not necessarily the seed or the sower that is faulty, but where the seed is sown. What is our response to the message about Jesus? Are we hard hearted or receptive? 13:4 And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them.
13:19 When any one hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what is sown in his heart; this is what was sown along the path.
|
|