The Parable of Sowing
Jesus used parables often to communicate important ideas to his followers. The parables stimulated critical thinking in his followers and allowed them to connect the teachings with practices, actions and things that they were familiar with, thereby increasing the relevancy of the message. Jesus’ parable about the sower (Mark 4:1-20) was one of his most relevant stories. It was an illustration of the Kingdom of God, which explained Christianity as well as the various categories of Christians within the church. Jesus tells the story of a man who set out to plant seeds. Seeds landed on different terrain when they were being thrown. Birds ate some of the seeds that fell on roads (KJV Holy Bible 2020). Some seeds fell on rocks and, because they didn’t have enough soil to anchor them, were scorched quickly by the sun. Some seeds fell on thorns, and they were not able to grow because of competition from other plants. Healthy soil was the last to be planted with seeds. The seedlings grew well and produced fruits.
Jesus wanted to demonstrate that different people see the kingdom of God in a variety of ways. In this tale, the farmer represents God and the seeds symbolize God’s message. KJV Holy Bible, 2020. The first grain to fall on the road was eaten by birds. This represents those who heard God’s message and didn’t listen (KJV Holy Bible). This term might also be called Satan because it was watered by birds. A second set of seeds landed on the hard ground symbolises people who believe in God. But they soon find themselves in a world of obstacles that is represented by the sun. Because they lack strong faith in Christianity, these people are willing to give up on Christianity. Christians who are too busy with their personal or worldly pursuits to follow their convictions, but embrace the gospel, are called the third kind of seed (Butler 2019, 2019). This is a person who follows their passions and can’t give time or money for God. It is the last set of seeds to produce fruit that was planted on good soil. These faithful Christians listen to God’s word, take it in, and follow the guidelines and expectations of God. These Christians, in addition to listening to the Word of God, produce the Holy Spirit’s fruits and testify for God.
The fable has particular relevance in our modern society. This parable teaches us about the condition of our hearts. Christians need to understand who and what they are. This will help them gain a better understanding of their limitations, which in turn can lead them to demonstrate genuine Christianity. All of us belong to the same type of seed the sower spread. The grain is fine, but the place it was deposited wasn’t suitable for seed growth.