Who's Responsible?

Mark 4:1-20

Jesus spoke to a large crowd from His own personal platform-a boat floating in the sea. The people gathered around Him facing the sea and He sat comfortably in the boat while sea gulls screamed and little children splashed their feet in the water. He told them the parable of the sower. I wish I could have been there, basking in the sun, smelling the saltiness of the water, and listening to that voice.

There was a sower who sowed seed and some fell along the wayside, and the birds ate it. Some fell on stony ground and the seed sprang up but there was no depth of earth and the sun dried it up because there was no root. And some seed fell among the thorns and the thorns were too strong for it and the seed couldn't grow.
But then some seed fell on good ground, and a nice crop came from the seed, some thirty fold, some sixty, and some a hundred.

Later on, His disciples and those hanging out with the disciples asked Him what He meant by His seed story. He seemed surprised that they didn't understand.

The sower sows the word. Some people are along the wayside and hear the word but Satan takes away the Word from their hearts before it can do them any good.

(Perhaps these folks are on the fringes and hear the word once in awhile.)

Some have the seed sown on their stony ground, and they are really glad to hear it but they have no root in themselves and only have a little endurance when tough times come because of the Word.

(Perhaps these folks don't dig up their own soil. Perhaps they've allowed the rocks and stones of bitterness and offenses to harden the soil of their hearts.)

Sometimes the Word falls among thorns. The soil is half decent because something is obviously growing there, but the plant that was already in the soil chokes out the good seed. The cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches and desires for other things competes for the attention of the Word and their hearts are divided, and since the thorns had a head start, they win out in the end.

Sometimes the word falls on good soil. And there are different sized harvests that come from this seed. Perhaps the size of the crop depends on how often the soil has been turned and if the stones and rocks are taken away from the surface whenever the soil is turned. Perhaps it depends on how much the soil has been fertilized with good nutrients and how much the light of God's word and the rain of His Spirit have been allowed to effect the health of the soil.

So, who is responsible for how the seed grows?

Not the sower.
Not the seed.
Not the environment.

It's all about the soil.

How is your soil?

It's time to get rid of the stones, and the cares, and the thorns.
It's time to fertilize and give sun and water to your soil.
When the seed of the word of God is sown on your good soil,
it will yield a harvest of more good seed.
Then those seeds can be planted and there will be an even greater harvest.
And then those seeds can be planted....and so on.

"For whoever has, to him more will be given; but whoever does not have,
even what he has will be taken away from him." (Mark 4:25)