The parable of the sower may better be called the parable of the soils. Jesus said that the results of sowing the Word of the Gospel depends on the soil on which it falls. The responsibility of the evangelist is to broadcast the Word of God to as wide a variety of people as possible. The effectiveness of the sowing is conditioned by the receptiveness of the people. There are four types of ways people can respond. In fact there are four stages of possible responses we can make to the Word of God. Jesus may have meant the four types of soil to represent four ways we respond to the Word of God at different times in our lives.

The first response is that of the PATH. It represents a life that is hardened, beaten down by all the traffic it has had to bear. The seed lands on the surface of the path, and does not penetrate at all. Eventually the birds come and eat up the seed because it never takes root. This describes the person who hears the Gospel of Christ but does not understand it. We are too busy with the traffic of life, too hardened to our circumstances, so that there is no time, no space, and no opportunity to stop and reflect on what God is saying to us. There are days or moments when we are all like this. When we get so busy, coming and going, rushing around, getting things done, that we are hardened to the still, small, voice of God. We become beaten down and insensitive to what God is dropping into our lives, is saying to us.

The second response is that of the ROCKY PLACE. The seed of the Word lands on the thin soil, protected by the rocks, and initially grows quickly. But when the sun comes up the plants are scorched and withered because they have no depth of root. This is when we hear what meets our immediate needs, and provides a quick fix to our problems. We come to God for our comfort, strength and healing in a crisis. We are happy when we are being blessed and prosperous. But the penetration of the Word into our lives is superficial and shallow. When trouble comes along we can't handle it. We are resistant to going deeper in order to understand the purpose of the suffering and pain we experience. We are not willing to make the changes in our lives in order to cope with the pressures of life. The soil has to be ploughed up and turned over in order for it to produce a harvest. Rocks have to be removed from our lives in order for the seed to sink down roots deep enough to withstand the heat of the sun, the troubles and sorrows of life.

I am a rocky place when I want to remain shallow and superficial, and refuse to face up to the rocks in my personality and behavior. It is threatening for me to hear the Word intruding into my emotions, and relationships; my fears and my worries. I don't want to feel uncomfortable with knowledge about myself that God wants to reveal to me. I don't want to be like Jesus in his suffering. The plough of the Cross hurts when it cuts into my pretensions, and priorities. Yet I know that I am going to have to address those rocky parts of my life sometime if God is going to do his work in and through me.

The third response is that of the THORNY PLACE. The seed takes root and grows because the soil is good, but when it gets to a certain height it finds that it has to compete for the nutrients, and the sunlight. It fights for its place with the thorns and weeds that grow together. In the end the struggle is too much, and the Word of God is choked to death. This is when we hear and receive Christ but we have many other responsibilities in life. We have to provide for ourselves, and take care of our families. We are concerned for our finances and our health. We worry about the future, and whether we will have enough resources to take care of ourselves. These worries obsess us and squeeze out the claims of Christ.

The fourth response is that of the GOOD SOIL. The seed sinks down deep roots. It has room to grow. It has no weeds to crowd it. It produces a crop of a hundred, or sixty, or thirty times its own size. This is when we are open to hearing the Word. We are willing and sensitive to receive what Christ says. We take time to understand and apply the Gospel to our lives. We are willing to do this in bad times as well as in good. We know that suffering will occur, that the Cross is a reality, that life will get ploughed up from time to time; but we know that the purpose is good - to enable the roots to go down deep so that a harvest will result. We don't allow the things of this world to deceive us into giving them more time and attention than they deserve. Money and circumstances don't control us. We trust in the Lord for our future, and the welfare of our loved ones. As a result we live productive lives that are a blessing to others, and influence the world for good.

The ministry of the Church is like the sowing of seed. Week in, week out, we sow the seed of the Word of God in the Gospel of Jesus. Sometimes the Word does not penetrate the consciousness of the hearers. They just don't get it. They cannot see the relevance of it to their lives. People come to worship and leave without it affecting them in the least. They are hardened by familiarity, deaf to the music of the Gospel.

Sometimes the Word is received enthusiastically for a time, and the people are fulsome in their praise and support of the ministry of the Church. But they don't last. They move on to other interests when they are asked to contribute or get more involved, or when the going gets harder in their lives, or when they don't feel that others value them as they need, or miss them when they are absent.

But sometimes the Word is welcomed, takes root, and grows and produces a life that is productive. The seed is multiplied, the life has an effect upon many for the kingdom of God. The believer is refined and matures through suffering and experience. As Russell Conwell prayed:

I ask not for a larger garden but for finer seeds.
I ask not for a more distant view but for a clearer vision of the hills between.
I ask not to do more deeds but for more effective ones.
I ask not for a longer life but for a more efficient one for the present hour.
I want to plant more, advertise more; Tell the story of Jesus in clearer form;
I want the world to be more wise, And also more glad because I was used.
May some oak say, 'I grew stronger.'
May some lily say, 'I grew purer.'
May some fountain say, 'I threw clear water higher.'
May some good books be read;
May some good friendship be made;
May my total influence tell for righteousness, without an unnecessary tear.

Let us commit ourselves to be both, the good soil that receives the Word of God and produces fruit for the kingdom, and also sowers of the Word. We will not always see the response we would like. Christ calls us to keep sowing, keep sharing the Gospel, keep teaching the Word, so that the seed will find faith, take root and grow. This world is depending upon us.

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