Luke 8:5-18 - Good soil
Scripture:
Luke 8:5-18
5 "The sower went out to sow his seed; and as he sowed, some fell beside the road, and it was trampled under foot and the birds of the air ate it up.
6 "Other seed fell on rocky soil, and as soon as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture.
7 "Other seed fell among the thorns; and the thorns grew up with it and choked it out.
8 "Other seed fell into the good soil, and grew up, and produced a crop a hundred times as great." As He said these things, He would call out, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear."
9 His disciples began questioning Him as to what this parable meant.
10 And He said, "To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is in parables, so that SEEING THEY MAY NOT SEE, AND HEARING THEY MAY NOT UNDERSTAND.
11 "Now the parable is this: the seed is the word of God.
12 "Those beside the road are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their heart, so that they will not believe and be saved.
13 "Those on the rocky soil are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no firm root; they believe for a while, and in time of temptation fall away.
14 "The seed which fell among the thorns, these are the ones who have heard, and as they go on their way they are choked with worries and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to maturity.
15 "But the seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word in an honest and good heart, and hold it fast, and bear fruit with perseverance.
16 "Now no one after lighting a lamp covers it over with a container, or puts it under a bed; but he puts it on a lampstand, so that those who come in may see the light.
17 "For nothing is hidden that will not become evident, nor anything secret that will not be known and come to light.
18 "So take care how you listen; for whoever has, to him more shall be given; and whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has shall be taken away from him."
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Thoughts:
This is probably the most well recognized parable of Jesus. The main point to us is that we want to be good soil: believers in Christ that not only received Him with "an honest and good heart," but that continue to walk with Him even through the hard times, for the rest of our lives (verse 15).
Verses 17-18 are an interesting follow-on to this parable. Jesus makes it clear that God is watching us, even when we are doing things in secret. Although this may initially give us a jolt, this is very encouraging if what we are doing is according to His will. Those things, overlooked by others, will be rewarded. For the Christian, thankfully, any wrongs we might have done in secret were paid for by Christ's death on the cross (Amen!).
But even more alarming, is the potential revealed here of people living their lives as rocky soil, or soil on the road (verses 12-13), but thinking that they are "good" with God. How terrible to think that a person could go through their entire life, feeling like they had a relationship with the Lord, only to lose everything as they step into eternity (verse 18).
The solution to this is simple however, we need to take an honest look at ourselves and ensure that we are in Christ.
2 Corinthians 13:55 Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves!
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Verse 16 provides an excellent way to do this. As we look at our lives, do we have the effect of a lighted lamp in the spheres in which we live? Or put another way, can anyone else tell that we're a Christian by our words and actions? Are the things that we're doing day-in and day-out consistent with the Word or the world?
If we don't like our answer, then we just need to acquaint ourselves with the Master. Receiving Him and allowing Him to guide our lives through His word. God is so good, it's never too late to become good soil.
Prayer:
Lord, thank You that You've given us Your word. Thank You that it reveals my true place before You. I want to walk with You. Let me be good soil for You.
Amen
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