SOME ENDED UP IN THE UNFRUITFUL THORNY GROUND,
AND WERE STIFLED BY THE WEEDS AND THORNS.
BUT SOME SEEDS BECAME EMBEDDED IN GOOD SOIL WHICH
WAS WELL-PREPARED TO RECEIVE THEM. THIS GROUND WAS
SOFT AND FERTILE. THERE WAS NOTHING TO HINDER THEM
FROM DEVELOPING INTO HEALTHY AND FRUITFUL PLANTS.”
Luke 8:4-8
A
s you allow the Holy Spirit full access
to your life, he will soften your heart, deepen
your experience of him, and position Christ
at the very centre of your life, making you
abundantly fruitful. But we can read this story in a slightly different
light, emphasising our response to the Spirit of God
as well as his word. After all, the word and the Spirit
always work together. Responding to the word of God
always entails responding to the Spirit of God.
The Parable of the Sower, one of the best-known
and most-loved parables of Jesus, shows how we can
make sure that God’s word bears fruit in our lives. It is
about fruitfulness in the lives of believers, not about
how we can be saved. In expounding this Parable,
many Bible teachers rightly focus on our attitude to
the word. They encourage us to receive the gospel
message deeply into our hearts and to nurture it
as we grow and bear fruit for God. In this season of fresh Holy Spirit visitation, it seems
to me highly appropriate to make sure that we are as
open to the Spirit as we are to the word, and to be as
open to the word as we are to the Spirit.
What then, does the Parable of Sower teach us about
having the right heart attitude bef ore God? The four
different kinds of soil show four different responses to
God’s Spirit and to his word. ➜
Revival Times March 2018 7