In Matthew 13:4, we see that some seeds fell by the edge of the road. These did not germinate nor grow but instead were eaten by birds. Now in verse 19 we find the meaning of the seeds that fell there. We’re told that these represent the hearers who hear the word of God but don’t understand it.

“The seed sown by the wayside represents the word of God as it falls upon the heart of an inattentive hearer. Like the hard-beaten path, trodden down by the feet of men and beasts, is the heart that becomes a highway for the world’s traffic, its pleasures and sins. Absorbed in selfish aims and sinful indulgences, the soul is ‘hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.’ Hebrews 3:13. The spiritual faculties are paralyzed. Men hear the word, but understand it not. They do not discern that it applies to themselves. They do not realize their need or their danger. They do not perceive the love of Christ, and they pass by the message of His grace as something that does not concern them.”—Ibid., p. 44.

Luke 8:11 reveals that the seed is the word of God and in verse 12, Jesus continues telling us about the hearers represented by seeds on the wayside. Luke the apostle tells us that these hear the word of God, but as the word enters their hearts, the devil comes and snatches it away lest they should believe and be saved. We will never see the devil coming to take the word out of our heart, but he uses other people to accomplish this. In many cases this comes from our very own brothers and sisters in Christ.

“Satan has many helpers. Many who profess to be Christians are aiding the tempter to catch away the seeds of truth from other hearts. Many who listen to the preaching of the word of God make it the subject of criticism at home. They sit in judgment on the sermon as they would on the words of a lecturer or a political speaker. The message that should be regarded as the word of the Lord to them is dwelt upon with trifling or sarcastic comment. The minister’s character, motives, and actions, and the conduct of fellow members of the church, are freely discussed. Severe judgment is pronounced, gossip or slander repeated, and this in the hearing of the unconverted. Often these things are spoken by parents in the hearing of their own children. Thus are destroyed respect for God’s messengers, and reverence for their message. And many are taught to regard lightly God’s word itself.”—Ibid., p. 45.

Ministers have been belittled in the eyes of young people in such a way that no matter how powerful may be the message they are called to give, it will be minimized or not even considered at all. Whenever we speak ill of the anointed servants of the most high God, too often we don’t even consider who happens to be listening—and the consequences of that. Youth growing up in such an environment have the same disrespect to the ministers, leaders or elders in the church because of how they have been depicted. Adults should not discuss their differences with other church members or families in front of children and younger people. If you overhear this kind of talk, don’t listen!

Among our early believers, there was abundant love and affection toward one another. It’s not that they never had differences; the key to this love was the parents. In those days, parents used to have differences, of course. But as children, we never knew of those problems until the older ones had already sorted out their issues amicably and continued to grow in the love and grace of Christ. That’s the best way.

In Matthew 13:5, 6, we read that some seeds fell on the stony ground. This seed managed to spring up, even though it was not fully rooted in the earth—and due to the scorching of the sun, it fades away. Verses 20, 21 reveal that this is a class who, when they hear the word of truth, fully embrace and accept it. But after going through a bit of tribulation or persecution because of the word, they easily get offended and eventually give up.

“The seed sown upon stony ground finds little depth of soil. The plant springs up quickly, but the root cannot penetrate the rock to find nutriment to sustain its growth, and it soon perishes. Many who make a profession of religion are stony-ground hearers. Like the rock underlying the layer of earth, the selfishness of the natural heart underlies the soil of their good desires and aspirations. The love of self is not subdued. They have not seen the exceeding sinfulness of sin, and the heart has not been humbled under a sense of its guilt. This class may be easily convinced, and appear to be bright converts, but they have only a superficial religion.”—Ibid., p. 46.

Often those on stony ground are moved by emotions and not the Spirit. They are often boastful about their conversion, in contrast to those saved by the Spirit, who have nothing of which to boast other than the cross of Christ. So, true repentance and conversion cannot be forced or in our own strength because it is the work of the Holy Spirit (see Zechariah 4:6). Emotion is not true conversion because as soon as that rapturous feeling leaves or someone tampers with the emotions of that person, he/she quickly goes back to the old habits. The seed was not deeply rooted, the sun came up, it was scorched, and soon faded away. So it is with this person. He is not rooted in the word of truth, and when tempted or faced with a bit of suffering because of the word, he reverts back to the old self.

The rich young ruler in Matthew 19:16–22 truly wanted to be saved. That’s why he came to Jesus to ask Him how. He bragged about how had been a commandment keeper since childhood. But in his case, when told to sacrifice his wealth to obtain eternal life, he went away sad.

This warns us that when the message is powerfully preached and touches our hearts, we might quickly receive and embrace it, but as soon as we hear that we need to give up something—be it old habits, friends, wealth, etc., we quickly give up and again are back to our old self without any change.

“Many receive the gospel as a way of escape from suffering, rather than as a deliverance from sin. They rejoice for a season, for they think that religion will free them from difficulty and trial. While life moves smoothly with them, they may appear to be consistent Christians. But they faint beneath the fiery test of temptation. They cannot bear reproach for Christ’s sake. When the word of God points out some cherished sin, or requires self-denial or sacrifice, they are offended. It would cost them too much effort to make a radical change in their life. They look at the present inconvenience and trial, and forget the eternal realities.”—Ibid., p. 47.

Jesus gave up all to gain our redemption; therefore He requires us as well to give up all so as to be saved. He explains, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me” (Luke 9:23). So, taking up the cross a is daily process. We must die to self daily. With the help of the Spirit, we will be led to give up old habits and live as new creatures in Christ Jesus.

Some seeds fell among thorns. These sprang up but got choked out by the thorns. Verses 18, 19 reveal that these represent believers who receive and accept the message of truth, but because they are too busy with the riches and cares of this life, they get choked by them and the word of God becomes unfruitful.

“Many become so absorbed in business that they have no time for prayer, no time for the study of the Bible, no time to seek and serve God. At times the longings of the soul go out for holiness and heaven; but there is no time to turn aside from the din of the world to listen to the majestic and authoritative utterances of the Spirit of God. The things of eternity are made subordinate, the things of the world supreme. It is impossible for the seed of the word to bring forth fruit; for the life of the soul is given to nourish the thorns of worldliness.”—Ibid., p. 51.

In this life, we tend to focus more on the things of this life more than our eternal life. We value our businesses and jobs which provide us with only our temporal needs while we forget about our eternal destiny. When it comes to our business, we may even work overnight with no rest so as to ensure its success. But when it comes to things pertaining to our religion, we’re casual, as if being forced. We don’t seem to consider whether we’ve fed our mind with spiritual things or are starving ourselves spiritually. We go 24/7 doing our own business—but when it comes to God’s work, just spending a few minutes listening to His word becomes a problem. We count the minutes and start complaining when we think it has taken much of our time. God has given us six days to labor and do all our work and only kept a day for Himself to worship Him and acknowledge Him as the Creator, but often we want to steal even that very day or holy hours He has reserved for a holy convocation. To people in business, the devil has set a trap: sometimes the most sales come on Sabbath, so they miss church and the words God has specifically prepared for them—or they come in person, but not in mind, by letting themselves get distracted at church.

Thus God’s word is received with an open heart, but the cares and deceitfulness of riches choke out the word. These claim to love God’s word, but they value their businesses more than heavenly things. Such need to remember God’s many promises of care for those who put Him first.

Finally we have seeds planted in good ground! These sprang up well, grew, and bore fruits in a bountiful harvest. So just like the kernels of corn that fell on good ground and gave unexpected results, so is the person that feeds on the word of God. No matter how bad this person was, the moment he or she begins to study the Bible, he starts viewing things with a different perspective. The end result is amazing. The change is often silent and gradual but the results are evident. Just as the seed in the good ground brought forth good fruits, so does this person. The change is seen by all.

“The word of God often comes in collision with man’s hereditary and cultivated traits of character and his habits of life. But the good-ground hearer, in receiving the word, accepts all its conditions and requirements. His habits, customs, and practices are brought into submission to God’s word. In his view the commands of finite, erring man sink into insignificance beside the word of the infinite God. With the whole heart, with undivided purpose, he is seeking the life eternal, and at the cost of loss, persecution, or death itself, he will obey the truth.”—Ibid., p. 60. When true conversion takes place in the heart, we will treasure every word of God as coming directly from His mouth to us personally. Jeremiah says: “Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O Lord God of hosts” (Jeremiah 15:16).

In the parable of the seed sower, we’ve looked at different types of soil and how each affects us spiritually. We’ve all sinned and come short of the glory of God—and we’re all in one of these groups. We need to see which group we are in, confess our sins and become the good, fertile ground that God wants us to be.

The sower and the seed are all the same, but the soil is different and “the result is not beyond our control. True, we cannot change ourselves; but the power of choice is ours, and it rests with us to determine what we will become. The wayside, the stony-ground, the thorny-ground hearers need not remain such. The Spirit of God is ever seeking to break the spell of infatuation that holds men absorbed in worldly things, and to awaken a desire for the imperishable treasure. It is by resisting the Spirit that men become inattentive to or neglectful of God’s word. They are themselves responsible for the hardness of heart that prevents the good seed from taking root, and for the evil growths that check its development.”—Ibid., p. 56. [Emphasis added.]

Let us therefore ask God to soften the soil of our hearts, that we may receive and live by His word wholeheartedly!