Message Magazine’s Online Devotional for Wednesday, June 3, 2015
Based Upon Luke 8:4-15
You have it, now what will you do with it?
“And when much people were gathered together, and were come to him out of every city, he spake by a parable: A sower went out to sow his seed: and as he sowed, some fell by the way side; and it was trodden down, and the fowls of the air devoured it. And some fell upon a rock; and as soon as it was sprung up, it withered away, because it lacked moisture. And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprang up with it, and choked it. And other fell on good ground, and sprang up, and bare fruit an hundredfold. And when he had said these things, he cried, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. And his disciples asked him, saying, What might this parable be? And he said, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand. Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away. And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection. But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.” (Luke 8:4–15).
So, how’s your hearing? How’s your heart? Jesus’ parable is quite clear. From it I gather that there are several types of people in this world, but all have a few things in common: The Lord presents His Word to us all; The enemy presents many obstacles to distract us all; The Lord has given us all ears to be able to hear His Word; The Lord has given us all minds capable of receiving His Word; The Lord has made a way for all to bring forth much fruit as an out growth of the Word spoken; and the Lord has given all the ability to make a decision concerning Him and the Word He presents.
Really, then, the only question we need to answer is: “In light of this reality, what are we going to do?” We often hear the heated debate about whether or not everyone in the U.S. has access to the same opportunities. Are there such things as the privileged and the under privileged? Do some have better access to information than others? Do some have better access to quality education based on geography or socio-economics? Does “the system” that is the United States of America give equal support to the dreams and aspirations of all its citizens? Is the playing field actually equal across all strata of our diverse society? Must we all pull ourselves up by our bootstraps? Do we all even have bootstraps?
I will most certainly not attempt to answer these vital questions, but a similar reality is in play with our parable, and I have answered the overarching questions. Truth is, God has given each person the power and opportunity to hear His voice and do His will, by faith. No matter where or under what circumstances we were born, we all can be delivered from sin and eternal ruin. We all can thrive and succeed at submitting to His will. We all can become change agents who help others do the same. Within our varying spheres, and to the degree we can individually, we can respond to the call of God to be holy, because He is holy. But, will we choose to surrender ourselves to God, or will we say, in effect, that the enemy’s power to distract is greater than God’s power to deliver? It is our privilege and responsibility to answer these questions for ourselves, and decide whether to embrace the God of love, or the enemy who offers false promises and hates us all. Make the right choice.
