Luke 8:1-15
The Parable of the Sower (excerpts)
(Jesus) told this parable: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds ate it up. Some fell on rocky ground, and when it came up, the plants withered because they had no moisture. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown.”
...“Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”
...I speak in parables, so that,
“‘though seeing, they may not see;
though hearing, they may not understand.’
“This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God. Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe & be saved. Those on the rocky ground are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away. The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature. But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.
I've been hearing the "Parable of the Sower" being preached by the church (Roman Catholic) to all the churchgoers and to me since I was a child. But it is only now at present that I came to value its true meaning, and I am enlightened. I am hopeful that as I share this to all, the same enlightenment will come upon you.
There are some questions I request for you to ponder:
(1) How is the seed of God being sown to you?
(2) Are you the hearts "along the pathway"?...along the rocky ground?...along the thorny bushes?...or the good soil?
(3) Are you truly seeing and hearing?
God told us that He speaks in parables so that "though seeing, they may not see; though hearing, they may not understand."
And we never wanted to be captioned as "the others" that do not see nor hear. It is only through our Loving Lord's compassionate heart and amazing grace that we will able to contemplate truly His words and its meanings. It is through the Holy Spirit in us that He gives us the chance to understand what is He truly saying:
- He is telling us, "open your hearts and your minds so that my words will flow freely into you, in the wholeness of you, even deep within you."
- Our God doesn't want us to be the pathway, nor the rocky ground nor the thorny bushes.....He wants us to be the good soil so that we will be fruitful.
- When we hear His words, when He tries to open up our whole being, He is reminding us that the only sustenance of our lives are His Living Words.
Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”--Matthew 4:4
I've been hearing the "Parable of the Sower" being preached by the church (Roman Catholic) to all the churchgoers and to me since I was a child. But it is only now at present that I came to value its true meaning, and I am enlightened. I am hopeful that as I share this to all, the same enlightenment will come upon you.
There are some questions I request for you to ponder:
(1) How is the seed of God being sown to you?
(2) Are you the hearts "along the pathway"?...along the rocky ground?...along the thorny bushes?...or the good soil?
(3) Are you truly seeing and hearing?
God told us that He speaks in parables so that "though seeing, they may not see; though hearing, they may not understand."
And we never wanted to be captioned as "the others" that do not see nor hear. It is only through our Loving Lord's compassionate heart and amazing grace that we will able to contemplate truly His words and its meanings. It is through the Holy Spirit in us that He gives us the chance to understand what is He truly saying:
- He is telling us, "open your hearts and your minds so that my words will flow freely into you, in the wholeness of you, even deep within you."
- Our God doesn't want us to be the pathway, nor the rocky ground nor the thorny bushes.....He wants us to be the good soil so that we will be fruitful.
- When we hear His words, when He tries to open up our whole being, He is reminding us that the only sustenance of our lives are His Living Words.
Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”--Matthew 4:4
- He never wanted us to belong to "the others" upon whom His words are just being snatched away by the devil.
- He never wanted us to give-in easily and doubt Him when time of testing comes.....life will be full of "storms", trials and tribulations, it will never go away as long as we are still living here on our temporary abode, but we are assured that all through it, "He is with us"- Matthew 1:23, and
"He will never leave us nor forsake us."- Hebrews 13:5
- He never wanted us to forsake our "first love"; God is our first love, and He is the reason why we are still alive and why we are given the chance to look at our lives in His perspective; He is so patient with us that is why He is telling us every now and then not to be choked up by life's worries, nor focus on riches and pleasure.
"Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first...Repent!...To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God."--Revelation 2:4-7
Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.--Deuteronomy 6:5
The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.--2 Peter 3:9
- He never wanted us to give-in easily and doubt Him when time of testing comes.....life will be full of "storms", trials and tribulations, it will never go away as long as we are still living here on our temporary abode, but we are assured that all through it, "He is with us"- Matthew 1:23, and
"He will never leave us nor forsake us."- Hebrews 13:5
- He never wanted us to forsake our "first love"; God is our first love, and He is the reason why we are still alive and why we are given the chance to look at our lives in His perspective; He is so patient with us that is why He is telling us every now and then not to be choked up by life's worries, nor focus on riches and pleasure.
"Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first...Repent!...To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God."--Revelation 2:4-7
Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.--Deuteronomy 6:5
The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.--2 Peter 3:9
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?--Matthew 6:25
Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have,--Hebrews 13:5
Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have,--Hebrews 13:5
For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.--1 Timothy 6:10
Pleasures are meaningless.--Ecclesiastes 2
Pleasures are meaningless.--Ecclesiastes 2
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.--Romans 8:28-30
Inspirational Prayer:
Loving Lord, we humble ourselves before You. As you open up our hearts, and our whole being, please give us the enlightenment to see your real purpose for our lives. As we reach out for You, please teach us to reach out for others too. Teach us to let go of ourselves and change our hearts to selfless giving. Instill in us a sensibility on how to meet others needs as well. We lift up our lives to you, please teach us to pray for others too. In Jesus name, Amen.
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