What kind of seed are you?

This person told me they see the Bible as only a book of stories and it was hard for them to believe the Bible to be the Truth, the Living Word. Then they asked, “How can it be more? Even Jesus speaks using a bunch of stories.”

   “When they were off by themselves, those who were close to him, along with the Twelve [apostles], asked about the stories. He told them, “You’ve been given insight into God’s kingdom — you know how it works. But to those who can’t see it yet, everything comes in stories, creating readiness, nudging them toward receptive insight. These are people —

Whose eyes are open but don’t see a thing.

Whose ears are open but don’t understand a word,

Who avoid making an about-face and getting forgiven.” 

 

 He continued, “Do you see how this story works? All my stories work this way.

   “The farmer plants the Word. Some people are like the seed that falls on the hardened soil of the road. No sooner do they hear the Word than Satan snatches away what has been planted in them.

   “And some are like the seed that lands in the gravel. When they first hear the Word, they responsd with great enthusiasm. But there is such a shallow soil of character that when the emotions wear off and some difficulty arrives, there is nothing to show for it.

   “The seed cast in the weeds represents the ones who hear the kingdom news but are overwhelmed with worries about all the things they have to do and all the things they want to get. The stress strangles what they heard, and nothing comes of it.

   “But the seed planted in the good earth represents those who hear the Word, embrace it, and produce a harvest beyond their wildest dreams.“

The question to ask now is, what kind of seed are you?

 

Unfortunately, most people today have not read the Bible or only read the commonly quoted scriptures.
As a result many people go on thinking with an increasing delusion that
the Bible is fiction, full of mistakes, or no longer relevant to
present times. 

 

I want to encourage you, as the Lord has encouraged me this week, to go in a little deeper into the scriptures found in the Bible. The fire that lit under me recently was when I heard someone explain the view Muslims have of Christians. This person said somewhere along the lines that compared to Muslims, Christians are quiet and timid. They are unsure about their own religion and lack knowledge about what their scriptures actually say.

 

Wow, how can we, as Christians, followers of Jesus, bring the Kingdom to earth, if we don’t even know what Jesus teaches… and even if we know, what happens when we are quiet about it?

 

When I heard this, I felt immediately convicted. I started to ask myself how much of Christianity do I really understand? More specifically, what questions do I have that are answered right here in my Bible? And also, of what I do know, how much of it do I share with others? It wasn’t a feeling of obligation, rather a wake-up call. I even got excited, like it was a mission. What am I going to do about it? If I am a follower of Jesus Christ, how do I actively seek him on a daily basis? How will my life glorify His name, not my own?

Personally, I am seeking Him through His word found in the Book of Mark this week. I invite others to join me in reading the Book of Mark, maybe even several times, and meditating on what is really being said there. It is good stuff. Join me! How am I letting others know? Well, I just told you about it. Go read!