My third grade teacher would never tell us how to spell a word. If we asked how to spell something, he’d always respond, “D-I-C-T-I-O-N-A-R-Y.” Even at 9 years old, I knew that “knowledge,” for example, didn’t start with a “D.” So as soon as he’d start spelling, I’d roll my eyes and walk over to the classroom dictionary.
At the time, it frustrated me that he wouldn’t just tell us. But look at me now! I spelled “knowledge” without needing to look it up. I grew in my ability to spell words.
As I said yesterday, Jesus does something similar in Matthew 13. Parables conceal, but it’s not for the purpose of keeping the Kingdom from people. It’s not a tool used to exclude, but to develop.
In fact, Jesus is more than happy to explain his parables, as he does in today’s reading. Yesterday, we read the parable of the farmer scattering seed, and today we get the explanation.
In this story, Jesus tells us that the seed is the message about the Kingdom, and the four soils are the different ways it’s received. The first is a footpath, the second is rocky soil, then there are thorns, and finally good soil. The first three soils all have different issues that cause the seed to not fully take root and grow into what God had created and designed it to be.
We can hear the message but not understand it. (We talked about that yesterday.) We can hear the message and immediately receive it with joy but not allow it to continue growing deep into our lives. We can allow the message to be crowded out or distracted by other things in life, like wealth and worry. Or we can listen and receive the message, tend to it, cultivate it, and allow it to continue growing into our lives until it ultimately produces fruit.
A seed is meant to grow. So the message of the Kingdom is meant to grow in our lives as well. But sometimes there are things that get in the way—expectations, apathy, distractions.
Now, don’t misunderstand and think that faith requires us to earn our salvation; that’s not it at all. As Dallas Willard once said, “Grace is not opposed to effort; it is opposed to earning.”
We can’t make our faith grow; only God can do that. But with a listening posture, humble heart, and intentional care, we can continue to receive the message of the Kingdom until it begins to produce fruit in our lives.
Reflection:
- What does it look like to intentionally and continually care for and receive the message of the Kingdom in your life?
- What distractions in life take you away from the message of the Kingdom? How can you eliminate a distraction today?
- Is your faith producing fruit? What might it look like for your faith to do this?