Your Seed

Hi friends! Welcome back to the Sparks of Joy blog! If you're new here, hi I am Emily and am so glad you are here! In this blog we are going to be talking about Matthew 13, "The Parable of the Sower." I absolutely love this parable and I feel like it is important for us to reflect on! Sit back, grab your comfort food or drink, and let's get started!

In Matthew 13, Jesus went on a boat because of the large crowds that were gathered around and he started to speak in parables. First of all, I would like to address the question of why Jesus spoke in parables. It says in Matthew 13:11 that Jesus spoke in parables, "Because the secrets of the kingdom of heaven have been given for you to know, but it has not been given to them. For whoever has more will be given to him, and he will have more than enough; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him." He goes on to say that they look but do not see and with hearing they do not listen or understand. What this means is that it's a heart posture. You are either willing to seek and understand who He is or your heart is not willing to hear or understand. Jesus wants us to seek who He is and His kingdom. Now that we have answered that question, let's talk about the Parable!

Matthew 13 has a lot of awesome parables! This parable is my absolute favorite because to me, it helps me self reflect on where I am in my walk. There is a sower going out to sow. The sower dropped some seeds on different ground. The seed represents the word and the sower is God. This parable also talks about the level of interest in people's hearts. Let's talk about the first one.

So, the first one was the path. The see was not planted, it just was chilling on the surface and the birds came and ate it. This is the path that people claim to know of God but not who He is because they do not understand the word. In Matthew 13:19 Jesus says, "When anyone hears the word about the kingdom and doesn't understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart." Because the word of God was not sown inside their heart, the evil one devours and takes away. They do not seek to understand. It's like showing up on a random Sunday morning, "listening" to the message, going out and keep living the same life you were living and thinking you're good. There is no fruit being produced.

The second path is the rocky ground. In Matthew 13: 5-6 Jesus says," Other seed fell on the rocky ground where it didn't have much soil, and it grew up quickly since the soil wasn't deep. But when the sun came up, it was scorched, and since it had no root, it withered away." When I think of this one, I think of the people who were once on fire for God but when hard things came a long, they fell away from their faith. Matthew 13: 20 says, "And the one sown on the rocky ground- this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy. But he has no root and is short lived. When distress or persecution comes because of the word, immediately he falls away." This is the one that really pierces me. In the past, when hard things came I fell away because I didn't root myself in Him. I didn't have a steady, consistent relationship with Jesus. I felt I was too much and I felt my problems were too much. I felt like I had to depend on myself and not God. We are not meant to walk on this journey alone! Think of a sports team. There is basketball tryouts for a traveling team. Some have no skill, some have skill but don't practice, some have skill but are too afraid of what others think and then there's some that practice constantly, workout, and study plays because they are dedicated. They come to the tryouts and the ones who have no skill don't continue to show up because it's too hard. The one's who have skill stop showing up because they weren't in shape and didn't want it bad enough. The others who had skill stopped showing up because they were too worried about what others thought of their skill, so they felt like they stunk and stopped coming. The one's who were in shape, coachable, and the one's who dedicated their time and attention to the sport were the ones that were put on the team. The rocky ground are the one's who see and hear the word but just don't want it bad enough because they are"out of shape" when hard things come. Be careful to not plant or hide yourself in the rocky ground. It is short lived. The high won't last forever.

The third ground is the thorns that choked the plant. Matthew 13:22 says, "Now the one sown on the thorns- this is one who hears the word, but the worries of this age and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful." These are the people who care too much of the world. These people hear the word but the worries of this world and the riches offered become more important and the word is replaced. So for the basketball player this could be what the coach thinks of them, what the other players think of them, what the other players have and what they don't have. They fall away because they are too worried about the things they lack instead of what God has given them. I don't know about you but that really convicted my heart. There is a lot going on in the world. We have to let God be God. I encourage you to read Matthew 6:25-34. The title of this is the cure for anxiety. We don't need to worry about what is in the world. We are called to store up treasures God gives us, treasures not of this world. The greatest treasure we have on this earth is the word of God and the relationship we have with Him! Don't let the weeds choke you, let God pull them out. I love this quote I just found, "Your mind is a garden. Your thoughts are your seeds. You can grow flowers or you can grow weeds." -unknown. Colossians 3:2, "Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things." Let your minds be focused on the word of God and who God is!

The last ground that is talked about is the good ground. Matthew 13:23 says, "But the one who is sown on good ground- this is one who hears and understands the word, who does produce fruit and yields: some hundred, some sixty, some thirty times what was sown." These people commit to God with a clear and steady focus. They meditate on God's word. They are continuous in prayer. They have blinders on and only look to Jesus. They do not look to the right or to the left. Jesus uses these people to help lead others to understand and receive the word of God. They both see and hear the truth and are rooted in God. They can not be uprooted. They bear much fruit because they are actively seeking who God is. They do not let hard troubles or their sin affect their walk in Christ. Psalm 1 is a great example of what it means to be planted in good ground.

I have a reflecting question for you and I would really like you to stop and reflect on your walk and how you can grow closer to God. I heard one of the questions in a podcast and I was like, "woah, I never thought of that before." The questions are:

1) If I didn't have the weeds, the heat, the downpours, the birds, etc. what would be thriving in my garden right now?

2) Where am I right now based on the parable?

3) What are some things in my life that I can give up in order to pursue God more freely?

4) How can I hear and see God more clearly?

5) What kind of fruit am I producing right now?

I hope something tugged at your heart and I encourage you to read the parable and let God reveal something different that maybe I didn't see or catch! I would love to hear what God revealed to you because I don't know everything! Thank you for reading what God put on my heart and I will continue to be in prayer for you! Until next time! <3