New Hope Daily SOAP: Luke 8

Pastor Vicki Harrison

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Luke 8:4-8, While a large crowd was gathering and people were coming to Jesus from town after town, he told this parable: “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. Some fell on rocky ground, and when it came up, the plants withered because they had no moisture. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown.”

Today’s chapter is a mix of parables and miracles, truly a beautiful picture of the Kingdom of God.  We get glimpses of the Kingdom here, the way God always intended his world to be.

Our focus verses highlight the parable of the sower.  In this teaching, Jesus says that a farmer goes out to sow seeds but the farmer doesn’t worry so much about where he is throwing the seeds.  In fact, he seems to be pretty indiscriminate with his seed-throwing; he is throwing seed everywhere.  Some of the seed falls right on the path, where all the people walked and the soil was hard and had been packed down.  So the birds ate most of that seed. Some of the seed fell in rocky places (there are lots of rocky places in that part of the world) and while it would sprout, the soil was shallow, and there wasn’t enough root for the plant to survive. Some fell among thorns, and the thorns were invasive and took over.  The plants had no real chance of survival there.  But then some seeds fell on good soil, which produced an amazing crop - 30, 60, or even 100 times what was sown. 

What is Jesus teaching us about the Kingdom of God in this parable?  First, I think it’s important not to dwell on the different kinds of soils too much.  Often, one of our first temptations is to think, I know someone who is like that soil, and then that group of people are like this soil, and so forth.  The soils are important but they aren’t necessarily the main point.

Who is the star of the story?  Well, the farmer is OR the one who is sowing the seed.  He throws that seed everywhere – he is generous with the seed, throwing it everywhere there is any chance it might take root. Friends, we are the sowers.  We are the ones called to throw seed.  What’s the seed we are supposed to be throwing around? The Good News of Jesus. 

The Good News is for ALL.  We aren’t supposed to decide with whom to share our faith.  No, we are truly to share our faith, in word and deed, with everyone.  This is so important.  We aren’t just supposed to share Jesus with those in our congregation or with our friends who are “safe.”  We are supposed to be kind of reckless, sharing the love of Jesus Christ, sharing our faith story, telling people the source of our hope, with all kinds of people: those who don’t look like us,  those we don’t know, and those we do know.  If God has brought us to a certain place, a certain store, a certain vacation spot, a certain meeting, trust that there is a greater purpose.  We always should be on the lookout for ways to have spiritual conversations and share the Good News.

I want you to think about your past week.  Think about the places you went, the people you spoke to, the things you did.  I want you to think about each of those situations.  What would it have looked like if you had sowed some seeds at each of those places? 

And yet, we aren’t responsible for what happens to the seeds.  We are just called to sow.  Sow with joy wherever we go.  Sow with love.  Sow obediently and abundantly.  Then, we trust that God will do the rest.  Trust God with the harvest.  For me, this takes the pressure off…we are not responsible for the harvest. 

Let’s pray…Lord Jesus, I want to be a sower.  Help me see where you are calling me to spread seeds.  Amen.