Welcome to Hank’s Place —
Is the Great Commission getting you depressed? Do you see yourself as pretty wimpy when it comes to sharing the Good News? You’ve barely gotten a Good News sentence or two out in the past week? Month? Year?
Well, you might just need a reminder on what it is you are sharing. Words from GOD. Mark in the 4th chapter of his gospel records Jesus’ words when He’s drawing farming parallels to the word of God and people’s hearts. There we find 3 parables, that of the sower and the soils, the seed sprouting, and the mustard seed.
Jesus explains that the seed in these parables is the word of God. Jesus makes clear that the word of God itself is both ALIVE and POWERFUL! In one parable, the farmer sows his seed. Then in ways mysterious to the farmer, the seed takes root, sprouts and grows. The farmer doesn’t make it grow; he sows it and the seed, being alive, takes root and grows.
We sow God’s word. ALIVE words. These ALIVE words are able to take root and sprout and come to maturity in the lives of those who hear it. We don’t have to understand how, for this is God’s doing – and it is marvelous!
And how about the mustard seed parable? It shows that even if what we share is tiny, almost nothing, what counts is not the amount we shared but WHAT it is: the LIVING and ACTIVE word of God. The parable shows that that little bit can grow hugely in a person’s life!
Feeling better? How about the sower and the seeds? That parable begins with “Listen!” and ends with “If anyone has ears to hear….” How important it is for us to listen for what God is speaking! The soils make that clear.
‘Why speak in parables?’ asked the disciples. In response Jesus quotes Isaiah 6:12, where it sounds like God doesn’t want people to understand Kingdom truths lest they repent and He will begrudgingly have to forgive them.
Confused? Don’t be. Isaiah penned those words when Israel was in great rebellion against God. If God spoke clearly, in black and white to them at that time, say with a few lightning bolts and singed bodies, they would have turned back to God, outwardly, to avoid judgment, but their hearts would not have changed in the least. And God would have had to forgive them.
But — with parables, those refusing to listen, and learn, would continue their rebellious way, while those who did listen would learn, understand, repent from the heart and be forgiven. Clever, hmm?
So dear friends, share some Good News. Perhaps you are planting a seed. Or seeds. Or watering. Even one seed can change lives! So share. You’ll be helping others — COME ALIVE!
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