In the parable of the sower, Matthew 13, Christ represents the different results of the sowing as depending upon the soil. In every case the sower and the seed are the same. Thus He teaches that if the word of God fails of accomplishing its work in our hearts and lives, it is our decision. But the result is not beyond our control. True, we cannot change ourselves; but the power of choice is ours, and it rests with us to determine what we will become.
The wayside, the stony-ground, the thorny-ground hearers need not remain so. The Spirit of God is ever seeking to break the infatuation that holds men absorbed in worldly things, and to awaken a desire for heavenly treasure. By resisting the Holy Spirit men become neglectful of the Bible. They are responsible for the hardness of heart that prevents the good seed from taking root, and for the evil that ensues.
The garden of the heart must be cultivated. The soil must be broken up by repentance for sin. The soil once overgrown by thorns can be reclaimed only by diligent labor. So our evil tendencies can be overcome only by earnest effort in the name and strength of Jesus. The Lord bids us by His prophet, “Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns.” “Sow to yourselves in righteousness; reap in mercy.” Jeremiah 4:3; Hosea 10:12. This work He desires to accomplish for us, and He asks us to co-operate with Him.
In the ministry of the word there is too much sermonizing. There is need of personal labor for the souls of the lost. In Christlike sympathy we should come close to men individually, and seek to awaken their interest in the great things of eternal life. Their hearts may be as hard as the beaten highway, and apparently it may be a useless effort to present the Saviour to them; but while logic may fail to move, and argument be powerless to convince, the love of Christ, revealed in personal ministry, may soften the stony heart, so that the seed of truth can take root.
The sowers have something to do so that the seed may not be choked with thorns or perish because of shallowness of soil. At the very outset of the Christian life every believer should be taught that he is not merely to be saved by Christ’s sacrifice, but that he is to make the life of Christ, his life, and the character of Christ, his character.
Let all be taught that they are to bear burdens and to deny natural inclination. Let them learn to trust His love and to cast on Him their cares. Let them taste the joy of winning souls for Him. In their love and interest for the lost, they will lose sight of self. The pleasures of the world will lose their power to attract.
Adapted from “Christ Object Lessons”