Mark 3:31-35, 4:1-20, 21-29; Matthew 12:46-50, 13:1-23; Luke 8:19-21, 8:4-18

I’ve heard quite a few sermons on the parable of the seed. I’ve read these chapters many times myself. But I read something today that stood out as though for the first time.

You see, I’ve understood this parable to help us in our witnessing, to help us recognize that when we share the good news some people will reject it, some will accept it on the surface, and some will allow it to change them. It’s always challenged me to be a faithful sower regardless of how the message is received. And all that is true and a very integral part of what the parable is intended to convey.

But Jesus, when explaining the parable to his disciples said, “Therefore, consider carefully how you listen.” (Luke 8:18) He’s preaching to the choir and tells them they are to pay attention, too. It’s not just about people hearing the Gospel for the first time. The seeds in this parable referred to the disciples, too.

Today I’m asking myself, am I satisfied with the level of my knowledge and understanding of God’s Word? Or are there still some things God would want me to learn? As I read his Word each day, attend church or Bible study, do I do so with an open heart, ready to allow it to change me? Even after all these years I’ve walked with the Lord?

Every time I hear the Word I am a seed in Jesus’ parable. I want to be the seed that hears and retains it, and by persevering produces a crop. Jesus goes on to say in verse 8, “Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has will be taken from him.” There’s a blessing and a curse.

If I, who have such a rich history of Bible believing pastors and teachers, who have had the privilege of reading the Word for myself for decades, listen with an open heart and mind, there is still so much for me to learn. What a blessing!

But if I take God’s Word for granted, if I close myself off because I think I have it all figured out or that I have just enough to get me into heaven, I run the chance of losing it. My heart can become as rocky and hard as the soil in the parable. And look what happened to the seed there.

Dear Jesus, Thank you for your Word. It is alive and active and able to change hearts today. Including mine who have walked with you for many years. I pray that you will find my heart fertile, that you would continue to teach me through your Word and through the faithfulness of your pastors and teachers. As I consider how I am listening, I pray you will find me eager and willing to hear from you. And may I use what you are teaching me to plant seed so that others can know you, too.