“Listen…” to the Parable of the Farmer.  “He, who has ears, let him hear.”  Mark 4:1-20

Two things jump out to me as I re-read this familiar parable.  1)  Jesus is revealing “the secret of the Kingdom of God”.  2)  No farmer plants without an expectation of a harvest…hopefully a big harvest.  With those two things in mind, note how Jesus described a farmer who scattered seed everywhere, liberally!  Maybe this is a key.  Who is to say which is the fertile soil?  We do not know until the harvest is done, which in this case, is in God’s hands.  Our job is to sow the seed in the paths, among the rocks and thorns, and in “the fertile ground”.  But God brings the harvest.

Our commendation or condemnation will come, not on the size of the harvest, but by the investment of seed sowing.  If we hold back from spreading the Gospel message because we have judged a certain person, or situation, presents itself as bad soil, we have not heard the parable.  The star in the show is not the farmer who judges correctly where to sow the seed.  The star of this story is the Lord who brings the harvest.

If we look around and wonder how things could be so bad, or how people could be so confused, we must admit that we have been stingy with the seed…with God’s answer that he has freely given to us.  He has given us the instructions and he intends for us to listen, not just hear, but to listen with the inclination to do what he has asked. What a privilege the Lord gives us.  He has entrusted us with the seed, the Gospel message.  I need to re-commit myself to sowing seed, not deciding on the outcome.  I encourage you to join me in a renewed commitment to share the Gospel message everywhere, all the time.