If you know anything about me, you know I like to explore different ways of looking at scriptures.
Today I’d like to explore a passage from Matthew 13
“A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no roots. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still, other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty, or thirty times what was sown. Whoever has ears, let them hear.”
What if there is another way to look at this passage? I want to use a prism concept here. Depending on what part of the prism you’re looking through, will determine what you see.
When I read this passage in the past, I usually interpreted it as my responsibility to make sure the soil of my heart was prepared for the seed of the Word.
What if I turn the prism to look at it from a different viewpoint? Now, the focus isn’t on my responsibility to care for my soul. Now, the focus is on the generosity of the Father, who after all, is the master gardener. He’s a sower who does not obsess about the condition of the fields, nor is He stingy with the seed. Instead, God scatters it everywhere!
That means our generous God equally and liberally makes himself known to every rich and poor people group, to those living in isolated areas and cities, to those deserving and undeserving, to those seeking and not seeking.
Our God isn’t selective as some would think. Nor does He say “you’ve had too many chances (seed), I have to save some for others. With God, there’s more than enough seed for all people throughout eternity.
And what is the word “seed” a metaphor for? Truth!
When we combine these two ways of viewing the parable of the sower, we actually can get a fuller picture.
Truth that falls on good soil has the power to shift things in our souls and bring about deep ongoing change.
Truth that our Father spreads over rocky soil can make things shift.
Here’s another view looking through a prism. What if the rocky soil is the unfavorable situation we find ourselves in? The Sower still scatters seed. However, sometimes the difficult and ongoing situations make it hard for the seed of Truth to stick or take root. We’ve all experienced times.
Truth that is spoken in the form of wisdom or sound advice can easily be eaten by the birds. Especially in tough times. But, who are the birds? Voices in the media. Voices of our friends. Voices of our past. Voices of fear. In this case, we aren’t able to take in the seed or take spirit-led action at the moment.
The Sower has plenty of Truth that He liberally spreads over each of our hearts, minds, and souls for every situation we face in life.
When we turn the prism our perspective of this parable becomes much fuller. By looking at the parable of the sower through the lens of the situations we face in life, we can see God’s goodness and it compensates for what we expect of ourselves. This lens takes into account both God’s nature and our human nature too.
Interested in taking a deeper walk along the path of spiritual formation? Let’s talk. Here’s my email. Wholenessinpractice@gmail.com
Mega Blessings
Lisa