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Answer Lies in the Soil
27
the disciples to push out a little into the water. Unhindered, He then
spoke to the crowd listening on the shore.
The plain of Gennesaret stretched out beside the lakeshore, and
beyond it rose the hills. That day, on both the plain and the hillsides,
workers were busy. Some were planting grain; others were reaping
a harvest from an early crop. Jesus, seeing these activities, told the
farmer/seed parable.
The Jews of that day were fixated on a Messiah who would
reestablish their earthly kingdom. But Jesus explained that the king-
dom would not be established by force, violence, or weapons of war.
It would come only when a startling new principle found fertile soil
in human minds
To set the stage for understanding this truth, Jesus presented
Himself in the story, not as a powerful king but as a humble farmer
planting seeds. In this way He taught them that the same laws that
control planting, growth, and harvesting on a farm also apply to the
development of our spiritual lives
The story left the crowd mystified. It awakened their interest,
but it also dashed their dreams. Even the disciples failed to get the
point of the parable. They privately came to Jesus later and asked
for an explanation
In the words of the promise made to Adam and Eve in Eden,
Jesus planted the seed of the gospel. And in the words of this parable
Jesus again planted the seed of the gospel. I
the story, the seed
[34]
represents the word of God. Every seed contains life. And every
word from God contains life. Jesus said, “Anyone who hears my
word and believes him who sent me has eternal life, and does not
come under judgment, but has passed from death to life.”
John 5:24
.
The life of God is in every requirement and promise of the Word of
God. Through Him every requirement is accomplished and every
promise becomes reality. So to receive God’s Word is to receive the
life and character of God.
All seeds reproduce themselves—and only themselves. If you
plant seeds under receptive conditions, then the specific life in that
seed will grow. In the same way, if you plant the words of God
in your life under receptive conditions, they will grow a life and
ACTSA-2
