Mark 4 -- Now Who Am I In This Story?

I have an etched stone outside of my window that says, “We sow the seed.  God produces the harvest.”  That’s important to remember while reading Jesus’ parable about the four types of soil.  Otherwise, we might find ourselves (as I once did) caught up in just why God would plant seed on a road!

 

Our job is to plant seed wherever we can.  God is the One who prepares and conditions the soil of each heart, enabling the seed to grow if it is meant to.  We don’t decide where to do the planting.  Our job is solely to scatter the seed, which is the Word of God.

 

I think it’s also important to remember that at some point someone else was scattering seed that landed on our hearts – seed that led us to where we are with God today.  If our hearts are the fertile soil, then perhaps we have a question to ask ourselves – are we the 30-times-more, the 60-times-more, or the 100-times-more field?  We have some responsibility in that, and Jesus addressed it in verses 24-25:  “The way you give to others is the way God will give to you, but God will give you EVEN MORE.  Those who have understanding will be given more.”

 

Jesus then gave them “a practical test to see how much they had really learned,” my commentary said.  These experienced fishermen headed across the lake in a boat, yet soon found themselves in fear for their lives in the middle of a storm.  They were in the storm because of their obedience to God, my commentary made sure to note.  Despite the fact that Jesus had promised they were going to the other side, the fact that Jesus was with them, and the fact that Jesus was perfectly at peace in the storm, the disciples were disturbed.  “Jesus slept because He was truly secure in God’s will … The greatest danger was not the wind or the waves:  it was the unbelief in the hearts of the disciples.  Our greatest problems are within us, not around us … They’d seen Him perform miracles and yet they still had no faith.  It was their unbelief that caused their fear, and their fear made them question whether Jesus really cared.  We must beware of an evil heart of unbelief.”

 

Father, this parable was about us as sowers, but it was also just as much about the condition of our own hearts to determine our level of belief in Christ, for that level helps to determine how effective we can be in sowing Your word in the lives of others.  Help me in my moments of unbelief.

 

Your Brother In Christ,