“So listen to the parable of the sower….” (v. 18)

The Parable of the Sower stands among the better-known teachings of Jesus. Not just because it is richly illustrative, but because the Lord actually explains it, which is a real gift to all who seek to follow Him.

Now, you have probably already had an encounter with one interpreting lens here, and it probably sounded like this: “Which kind of soil are you?” Maybe you are starved without root or choked by worries—or maybe you are tilled with repentance and ready for growth—which means it is easy to see yourself in the picture.

I’d like to encourage you with another angle:

Don’t forget, as you pour yourself into service and pour your heart out in evangelism, that everyone else is every kind of soil, too. What’s more, you don’t really get to know which, and you certainly aren’t in control of it.

That means your Gospel-giving life will meet every kind of result. You will sow the Word alongside the Lord, and it will be everything from snatched to withered to choked to flourishing. And—don’t miss it—it’s three out of four soils that prove unproductive! That means this work will be spiritually, emotionally, and relationally hard.

But sow! There is good soil out there, by grace. Let those who have ears, hear.

— Tyler