PARABLE OF THE SOWER

Now the parable is this (Jesus explains): The seed is the word of God. Those by the wayside are the ones who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. But the ones on a rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away. Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity. But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience (ἐν ὑπομονῇ).” (Lk 8: 11-15)

Now let me rise up to the challenge, of having heard the “word of God,“ and respond to it, wherever I happen to be. If I happen to be in a place unresponsive to God right now, I can also, at any moment, choose to be elsewhere, alive and ready for God’s purpose for me. Even if I’ve been stuck “by the wayside,“ like, on my own and outside of God, by not having a conversation with Him; or if I’ve been “on a rock“ I’ve chosen for myself, like my career and social-standing, if it’s based on people-pleasing and posing in masks untrue to my vocation; or if I’ve resigned myself to a situation “among thorns,“ in which my “cares, riches, and pleasures of life“ choke out my spiritual growth, – I can stop scrolling, turn off the phone, and let myself be lifted out of there.

God isn’t saying, if you’re in that rut, I won’t speak with you. He’s saying, get up and go elsewhere. And bear fruit “with patience.“ Take care, and talk to Me “with patience.“ Our spiritual growth, from His “seed,“ doesn’t happen overnight, but it does happen, when we get up and position ourselves into His love and light, in the “good ground“ He offers us. We can all have this “good ground,“ when we choose to recognize and take care of it; our “noble and good heart,“ which we all have, if we re-connect with it, and re-focus it on its Creator, our One-and-Only, Good God. So “let us lift up our hearts“ and grow today, rather than waste time by the wayside.