1 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. 2 Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. 3 Then he told them many things in parables, saying: "A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. 9 Whoever has ears, let them hear."
10 The disciples came to him and asked, "Why do you speak to the people in parables?"
11 He replied, "The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. 12 Those who have will be given more, and they will have an abundance. As for those who do not have, even what they have will be taken from them. 13 This is why I speak to them in parables:
"Though seeing, they do not see;
though hearing, they do not hear or understand.
14 In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah:
" 'You will be ever hearing but never understanding;
you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.
15 For this people's heart has become calloused;
they hardly hear with their ears,
and they have closed their eyes.
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
hear with their ears,
understand with their hearts
and turn, and I would heal them.'
16 But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. 17 Truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.
18 "Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: 19 When people hear the message about the kingdom and do not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their hearts. This is the seed sown along the path. 20 The seed falling on rocky ground refers to people who hear the word and at once receive it with joy. 21 But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. 22 The seed falling among the thorns refers to people who hear the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful. 23 But the seed falling on good soil refers to people who hear the word and understand it. They produce a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown."
My thoughts -
I'm typing this on my BlackBerry from bed. The cable's out right now and it took the internet with it. I woke up in the middle of the night and banged my right knee and shin in the dark. They hurt bad enough right now that I'd consider amputation. I haven't had any coffee and really am not in the mood to hobble down the hallway to the kitchen to make some. Consequently I'm a little groggy and grumpy. These are problems this morning. They may even serve as distractions that help to prevent me from really connecting with God right now, but they are not like what's described in verse 22.
Verse 22 scares me. I see this all of the time.
"The seed falling among the thorns refers to people who hear the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful."
We can get pretty comfortable in this life. We can use our wealth to insulate ourselves from a world that God wants us to serve. We can become self-reliant. If we're comfortable enough we don't feel the need to follow God. We're OK. Why would we do that? We often allow the things that we have to serve as a barrier between us and God.
But we can also allow the things that we do not have to do that. It's hard to really care for others when we have a hard time caring for ourselves. It's hard to be generous when we're not sure when we're going to lose a job but we know it's coming soon. It's hard to try to discover and do God's will when we have a hard time figuring out how we're going to pay the rent.
Whatever our situation, be it too much or too little, we need to learn to rely on God. If we do we can move from being a cautionary tale in verse 22 to what is described in verse 23:
"But the seed falling on good soil refers to people who hear the word and understand it. They produce a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown."
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