seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Luke 8:1 After this, Jesus traveled about from one town and village to another, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. The Twelve were with him, 2 and also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases: Mary (called Magdalene) from whom seven demons had come out; 3 Joanna the wife of Chuza, the manager of Herod’s household; Susanna; and many others. These women were helping to support them out of their own means.
4 While a large crowd was gathering and people were coming to Jesus from town after town, he told this parable: 5 “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds ate it up. 6 Some fell on rocky ground, and when it came up, the plants withered because they had no moisture. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the plants. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown.”
When he said this, he called out, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”
9 His disciples asked him what this parable meant. 10 He said, “The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to others I speak in parables, so that,
“‘though seeing, they may not see;
though hearing, they may not understand.’
though hearing, they may not understand.’
11 “This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God. 12 Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. 13 Those on the rocky ground are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away. 14 The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature. 15 But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.
This passage reminds me of the preachers I have met over the years. Some were so smart it was ridiculous... they used all kinds of $10 words, but their hearts were as cold as ice. They were there to spread the Gospel and us ignorant heathens were going to learn!
Some were what my mom would call "hellfire and damnation" preachers. They scared us into coming to church every Sunday.
Some would put people to work. If you're working in the church, then you will come to church and some of it will rub off on you.
There were history teaching preachers. They would teach us what the Bible said and why it was important. I'm 72 years old and I only met one of these types. In Virginia Beach there was a history teaching preacher, and the pews were full of smiling people every Sunday and Wednesday!
I also think about the people who "came forward" at the end of the Service. They were the "saved"! Now that's what a preacher lives for, tagging someone who is searching for Salvation, and showing them the way! But alas.... the same people took turns coming forward every week. I asked a couple of them why. One lady said, "it encourages others to come forward, not be timid". One other woman said, "he worked so hard on that sermon, I thought he needed a little encouragement from the audience. We're not allowed to applaud.". At any rate, they didn't get that Salvation comes from God, not a hardworking preacher or the benevolence of the parade.
It makes me think of the Sunday School Teachers too. Every week they have to prepare a lesson from a book purchased from the booksellers with money pulled from the offering plate. Half seemed to have never seen the lesson, another number read exactly what the book said as if it were in Greek [not understandable] and yep a few would teach the heck out of the lesson. They were prepared and excited [like the soil all seeds want to land in].
Churches are made up of the seeds to be cultivated by these preachers and teachers, as well as a few well-meaning wannabe Christians as well. Some will come and never understand those $10 words. Some will come and never understand because they don't do well with authority figures ruling their souls. Some will come and never understand because the helpful woman next to them is translating the Greek to German, which is no help. Some will come and never understand because they are only there to be seen, so people will hire them. Some will come and never understand because the preachers and teachers think they know it all and they don't study the lesson. Some will come and never understand because they are hungry and tired and no one offered them help so they kept searching elsewhere.
Churches are like the brier patches, walkways, and fertile ground Jesus is talking about.
Seeds need good soil.
