Thoughts for the Day

Jesus said in a parable: 'A sower went out to sow his seed; and as he sowed, some fell on the path and was trampled on, and the birds of the air ate it up. Some fell on the rock, and as it grew up, it withered for lack of moisture. Some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew with it and choked it. Some fell into good soil, and when it grew, it produced a hundredfold.' As he said this, he called out, 'Let anyone with ears to hear listen'......

Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. The ones on 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. The ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy. But these have no root; they believe only for a while and in a time of testing fall away. As for what fell among the thorns, these are the ones 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. But as for that in the good soil, these are the ones who, when they hear the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patient endurance.'

(New Revised Standard Version)

*The image for this story shows the Parable of the Sower in Latin!

Thoughts

As I write this I am thinking of brambles! Their roots go deep into the ground, often 2 feet down (0.7 metres) which grow from a monster root that goes horizontal across the whole area. I can tell you from experience they are very hard to get out. Brambles will grow in bad soil, but in good soil they will grow even more vigorously. However, they do produce wonderful blackberries, so I suppose we can't have everything.

Jesus told the story of the sower as a 'parable', that is an 'earthly story with a heavenly meaning'. Often not all the bits of the actual story are important, but there is always a strong message. After Jesus told this story the disciples actually had to come to him and ask him what the parable meant.

We need to be honest with ourselves, we have heard the word of God, but how deeply rooted is it in us? Are we the seed that fell on the rock, who fall away when we are tested? Are we the seed that fell into the thorns that are choked by the cares and/or riches and pleasures of life so that we do not flourish? Or are we the seed in the good soil that bears fruit with patient endurance?

Tuesday 26th May, follow up thoughts

Heavenly Father,
we hear Your word each day,
help us to continue to follow you,
and to embed it into our daily lives,
so that we can continue to grow in faith and love,
with patient endurance at this time of crisis.
Amen