Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, multiplying thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times.
Pastor Mike McCoy
Vineyard Christian Fellowship (Concord)
The farmer has generously scattered his seed virtually everywhere. This raises a question that hangs over this parable: Will it grow and produce a crop many times what has been sown, or has the seed been wasted on unproductive soil? When I hear this parable, my first question usually is, “What kind of soil am I?” and at different times in my life the answer could be any one of the four. You may want to answer this question for yourself.
Yet this parable is not primarily about the kind of soil we are; it is about what God’s word is producing in our lives. Jesus’ final word to His disciples in this passage is that good soil – what we all want to be – produces a crop 30, 60, even a 100 times what has been sown. That’s the challenge: Produce an abundant crop. But there is also an invitation: Hear and receive God’s word. Hear the good news that God’s kingdom has come and is at work in your life because King Jesus is here. Receive this word, and let it abide in your heart.
John, a first-century Christ follower, tells us that Jesus is the Word of God. He is the Word that God has scattered throughout the world and into our lives. Jesus is the word God has sown in your heart. Don’t let the devil steal Him from you. Don’t let the cares of this world choke Him out of your life. Don’t let the troubles of life cause you to fall away from Him. Hear and receive God’s word for you. You are meant to be the good soil that produces the abundant life God has for you in Jesus. May it be yours today and forever!
Father, please help me to hear your word for me in Jesus and put it into practice so I can produce the life you desire for me. AMEN.
