BIBLE READING: Numbers 5,6; Mark 4:1-20
“Hearken; Behold, there went out a sower to sow, some fell by the way side, and the fowls of the air came and devoured it up. And some fell on stony ground, where it had not much earth; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of earth; But when the sum was up, it was scorged; and because it had no root; it withered away. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up, and chocked it, and it yielded no fruit; And other fell on good ground, and did yield fruit that sprang up and increased; and brought forth, some thirty and some sixty, and some an hundred” –Mark 4:3-8 (KJV).
The word of God is often referred to as seed. When man fell, God promised that the seed of the woman will bruise the head of the serpent. That seed came as the word through Angel Gabriel to Mary. In the above scripture, Jesus speaks of the sower and the seed again referring to the preacher and the word. He outlined the factors that come to play in the fruitfulness of the seed sown. No doubt, the quality of the seed cannot be ignored. God’s word is an incorruptible seed. It is quick and active. But apart from the seed, other factors have great part to play in the fruiting process.
Here, Jesus outlined various soils that people can possibly sow their seeds. All these soils or grounds refer to the conditions of the heart or its receptivity. As powerful as God’s word is, our hearts can enhance or hamper its efficacy in our lives. Stony grounds or hardened hearts do not permit the root to go down. The way side describes the various forms of distractions while thorns describes cares, lust, fears, worries, anxieties and everything capable of chocking up the seed. Only good grounds are productive.
Prayer: Dear lord, harness my heart.
Rev. Vincent Diolu