The Parable of the Sower, Luke 8:4-8
4 And when a great crowd was gathering and people from town after town came to him, he said in a parable, 5 “A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell along the path and was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the air devoured it. 6 And some fell on the rock, and as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture. 7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it. 8 And some fell into good soil and grew and yielded a hundredfold.” As he said these things, he called out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
When my kids were little they wanted to finger paint. I wasn’t excited to clean up the mess I knew it would create, so I put it off as long as I could. Finally, I relented and bought some blue finger paint. On one warm Saturday afternoon, I had some work I needed to get done around the house, and I thought this would be the perfect day for them to enjoy the finger paint. We went to the patio, taped some paper to the concrete, and I went inside while they painted. Things got a little too quite, so I went to check on them. I was shocked at what I found!
When I read the Parable of the Sower, my mind often goes to the place of wondering if my life is more like the hard path, the rocky ground, the thorny area, or the good soil. It is helpful (and a must) to consider if I am regularly hearing/reading God’s Word and if I am receptive to what it is teaching me. But recently when I was reading this parable, the Lord taught me something new. This passage is called the parable of the SOWER not the parable of the SOILS. Therefore, I must ask, what am I to learn from the Sower, (or the Farmer) in this story that Jesus told? The farmer in this story doesn’t use his seed sparingly, in fact he uses it quite wastefully. He throws his seed here, there, and everywhere. The farmer doesn’t assess whether or not the ground is good soil.
Each of the parables Jesus tells has something in the story that is absurd to get the listener’s attention. The absurdity of this story is how lavish the farmer is, especially when compared to real, everyday farmers. Most farmers only plant on ground that is ready for the seed. But if I am to remember the other parables Jesus told, this type of absurdity is a theme. Jesus talks about the shepherd leaving the 99 sheep to go and find the one. The son who comes home after squandering the family’s wealth is not scolded, but his father runs out to embrace him and then throws a party for him. In each of these stories, we are told that God is unlike the typical farmer, shepherd, or father. God is lavish with His love, messy in His willingness to spread His Word among those who may not be “ready to properly receive it,” and willing to go to every place to find his kids and bring them home.
That day on the back patio, I knew my kids would enjoy getting a little messy with the finger paint. But instead of just getting some paint on their arms or toes, they took all of their clothes off and painted every part of their bodies and even “washed” their hair in the gooey substance. You see, that paint was too wonderful to only spread it on the paper, it needed to be spread all over the place.
The love of God is the same. This good news is too wonderful to keep contained. We are called to be like this sower and spread that love here, there, and everywhere completely unconcerned if those we are loving are worthy or ready to accept that love. Therefore, Go and Sow lavishly, the love God has sown in your life!
Written by and submitted by Rev. Heather Sims
Questions to think about?
1. How have you experienced God's extravagant and reckless love?
2. How are you sharing God's love with others?
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