Spiritist Society Towards the Light

The Parable of the Sower

November 18, 2016

From Matthew 13

 

The Parable of the Sower

 

13 - That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. 2 Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. 3 Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. 9 Whoever has ears, let them hear.”

 

The Parable of the Sower portrays the example of a man, the sower who went out to sow in a field. This example is interesting because it really refers to the activity of the time for the majority of the population. At the time the population worked a lot with land cultivation and fishing. That is why Jesus uses many examples from this kind of work in his parables.

The sower sows the word

In this example of Jesus, we who believe are those who hear his word. When God's word is sown in our hearts it can have various consequences depending on the type of heart we have when we receive the word. The sower is the one who throws the word to his listeners. It does not really matter who it is, as long as the seed is released.

By the wayside

The first type of heart is one that is "by the wayside". When the word does not have any protection the birds from the sky are free to come and steal the seed that was sown. Interestingly, this heart is in a fruitless site. When we walk on trails we realize that the by the wayside nothing grows, because this land is constantly trampled underfoot.

This type of heart can be compared to a person who has no interest in the things of God, or even someone who denies that seed. Notice that in this example the word is not even sown. The people who have this kind of heart receive the word, but does not allow it to be born and develop.
 
The rocky soil

The second type of heart is the rocky soil. When the word is a land without depth she soon rises because the earth is soft and the seed easily penetrates the soil. However, what keeps the tree firmly to the ground is its root and for not having rooted this seed can not grow and then dry’s out.

This type of heart can be compared to those people who convert to the Lord and are very excited about the word at the beginning of the walk, but because they are rootless people they can not remain in the communion of brothers/ sisters and the seed can not fructify. For them anything is enough to outrage them, which means that most of them turn away from the path of truth.

Thorns

The third type of heart is represented by the thorns. This heart is the seed that is born and grows, but the thorns do not allow the seed to develop and generate fruits.

This type of heart is the most common. We have many people who are converted from truth, but most of them are fruitless. The cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, ambitions and many other things suffocate the power of the Gospel of Truth.

The good earth

The fourth and final ground is that good land. This soil is represented by a good soil, when it receives the seed, fructifies and bears fruit.

This type of heart is the ideal heart, for it bears fruits. In life the big thermometer is the fruits we produce. In fact we can say that life without fruit is like a tree without fruit, i.e. no use.

We are all trees planted by the Lord to generate the fruit by which we are called. Each one according to its kind of service, as well as each tree of its kind.

The big difference for this soil to bear fruit is that in addition to hearing the word, these people receive it. The only spiritual way to produce good fruit is through hearing the word and receiving it.

Life is active in many ways, but when we talk about God's word we need to understand that as a good ground I need to open up so that the seed can reach the depth of my being. If my heart is stony or thorny, how can this seed bear fruit?

Conclusion

We must open ourselves to the word of God so it can take shape in us. The only way to produce good fruit is not through knowing a lot, or doing much, but we must open our hearts to the word of God and let it take shape in us.