Reading the Word

Luke 8:4–8 (ESV)

4 And when a great crowd was gathering and people from town after town came to him, he said in a parable, 5 “A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell along the path and was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the air devoured it. 6 And some fell on the rock, and as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture. 7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it. 8 And some fell into good soil and grew and yielded a hundredfold.” As he said these things, he called out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

Understanding and Applying the Word

In the Parable of the Sower, Jesus described the different ways the word of God effects people. In the parable, Jesus used the imagery of a farmer planting planting seed and the different types of soil the seed would land in as it was scattered. The seed represented the word of God as it was spread and the different types of soil represented the different responses to it.

The key to properly understanding this parable is focusing on the end result of the seed in each type of soil. Only one soil, the “good soil”, produced a yield. All of the others failed for one reason or another. These words teach us that those who hear the word of God and truly receive it will produce a yield. There will be true evidence in their lives. What has been your response to the word of God in your life? Has it produced a bountiful crop in your life that is evident to all who know you? Praise God for a living and active word that is powerful to change us for his glory!

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