Grant Wilson and I were in the Navy back in 1992, some 32 years ago. As Grant will tell you, it was a culture shock for both of us. A little more for Grant seeing as how it was his first time out of Smiths Grove. It would be an understatement to say we didn’t know what to expect when checking on board the ship; we were sure, however, that we would experience things that were new to us. I came on board the ship as an undesignated sailor, meaning that I didn’t have a particular job, I was just a member of the department that cared for the outside areas of the ship. The jobs were many but the most disliked was chipping paint, sanding, and painting. Standing the midnight watch in the pilothouse was a close second. It was also tasked to each sailor to be part of the ship’s firefighting team. This is a fact that I was aware of from the training we received in bootcamp, but didn’t fully understand what that would be like on board. You see, when we are out to sea there is no fire department to call, it’s just us in the middle of the ocean, often times hundreds of miles from shore or another ship for that matter. It’s up to us whether we sink or swim (quite literally).
When we become Christians, we also have “jobs” that we may or may not like or be totally comfortable in doing. I for one, am uncomfortable getting up and speaking. But I know this helps me grow as a person and in my walk with Christ, I also am hopeful that it will be helpful for those that read this. We’ll never know the good we do until we get to the end of this life. But that doesn’t stop us from striving to have a closer walk with our Heavenly Father.
In the parable of the sower we see that there are four different types of soil.
Mark 4:3-9 it reads…….
”“Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it. Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and immediately it sprang up, since it had no depth of soil. And when the sun rose, it was scorched, and since it had no root, it withered away. Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. And other seeds fell into good soil and produced grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.” And he said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”“
We know that the different types of soil are indicators of the condition of the heart. It’s important to see here that the Bible is telling us that although we may not be aware of the condition of the hearers heart, we are still to share Gods word with those we come in contact with.
Mark 16:15 “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.“
That verse does not tell us to be sure the people you’re speaking to are ready to hear the good news; it simply says to go and proclaim the word of God. The power of the good news does not lose its value or have its value diminished because the person listening isn’t ready to hear it. That is a very important lesson for us to learn in this passage. But that’s not all we can glean from this parable. The sower is mentioned in Mark 4:3, but is not mentioned again. You see the emphasis is on the condition of the soil/heart, NOT ON THE SOWER. This is a very important point that I think is missed far too often. You see those who have obeyed the gospel and have been added to the Lord’s family have an obligation. Much like on board the ship when I realized that I WOULD IN FACT BE A FIREFIGHTER. It was expected of me when I was sworn in .
I didn’t have a choice anymore. I didn’t sign up for part of the Navy. I signed up for all of it. I wrote a check to the United States Navy with no clear amount noted. Meaning, that I would give everything I had.
If we are members of the Lords family, we ARE EXPECTED TO SPREAD HIS WORD. We can’t be half-in when it comes to God’s family. Those of us that have been baptized into God’s family are all the way in. We shouldn’t be fearful of that fact–that should give us comfort. Just like on board the ship, there is work to be done but we will never be doing that work alone. We have our Heavenly Father beside us. We have His word to guide us and we also have each of our brothers and sisters in Christ to support us.
The sower was mentioned almost in passing. Let’s not lose that important point. You see the sower isn’t responsible for the increase. That is on God’s capable shoulders. That fact should free us to not worry as much about the response or lack thereof from those we study with because that’s not what we are called to do. We are called to spread the good news. It is GOD and GOD alone that gives the increase. Our job is to proclaim the word of God to all, not to shoulder guilt if the person we study with doesn’t obey the gospel. This should be a freeing realization to us all, allowing us to continue to spread the word and plant seeds in hopes that those seeds may grow and add another soul to the book of life.
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