Luke 8- Seeds and Storms

Lots of things happen in this chapter, but there are two situations described that really spoke to me when I read them.

The first is the parable of the sower. Jesus tells a story about a sower who was sowing seeds. Some fell on the path, got stepped on, and were eventually eaten by the birds. Some fell on rocks and ended up withering away because there was no moisture. Some fell among thorns that ended up choking the plants. And some fell into good soil, grew, and produced food. Then Jesus goes on to explain this parable to his disciples, and I'll just use his words since he explains it pretty well. ;)

“Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. The ones along the path are those who have heard. Then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy. But these have no root; they believe for a while, and in time of testing fall away. And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature. As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience.”

When I think back to the times I’ve heard sermons on this parable, I never remember questioning which of the above examples applied to me. Instead the parable seemed to explain how differently people may react when they hear God’s word. But as I was reading it, I realized something: I have been, at one time or another, all four. There have been times in my life that I heard God’s word and just didn’t believe it. There have been times that I’ve heard it and believed it, but my faith didn’t have the roots it needed and eventually I fell away. Most recently, though, I feel that I am teetering between the last two examples Jesus gave. I’ve realized that for some time now I have, unknowingly, become too consumed and weighed down by the “cares and riches and pleasures of life.” It is so tempting to rely too heavily on money and stuff, because those are the things that get you “ahead” in this world. But the other side to becoming too focused on those things is that they take my focus off of God, and in the end, my fruit does not mature. I have good intentions, there are things that are important to me, I want to follow God—but I can’t if my focus is divided. Lately as I have been reading and studying, I feel like God is telling me to focus on him, not the other things. And I believe that if I do, if I put my focus on him and on living the way he is calling me to live, then I will bear the fruit he wants me to bear.

I know this is getting long, but I just can’t leave the second thing out. Later in the chapter, Luke describes how Jesus calmed a storm out on the lake. I think it is interesting that the disciples, who had seen him do so many miraculous and seemingly impossible things—like healing people and raising a guy from the dead—were so panicked during the storm and so shocked that Jesus was able to command the winds and water. Don’t we do this too? I know that even when I’ve seen the amazing things God has done in the past, all too often when I’m in the middle of a crisis I panic and wonder if he can or will come through. Yet he has proven himself to be amazing and faithful.