Evaluating oneself properly can be very hard. There are occasions when we may be much too hard on ourselves. But surely there are times when we’re too lenient as well. Jesus said, “Do you not understand the parable? How then will you understand all the parables?” (Mark 4:13, ESV). This parable is all about having very attentive ears to the message of our Lord, along with a humble, responsive spirit that lets things “soak in.” If we struggle in this area, we’re going to struggle in our relationship with Jesus.

Sower. Seed. Soil. Each of these has a crucial part in Christ’s Parable of the Sower. Each must be properly studied to get the picture our Lord intended. According to Jesus, the secret of a fruitful heart is having hearing ears with a humble spirit. Jesus mentions four different types of soil/hearts.

“Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God” (Luke 8:11, ESV). This short statement is a real attention grabber! In a skeptical world that often says, “So what?”, the people of God sow the word of God to bring precious souls to God. In a pluralistic world that says there are many roads one may pursue and still be okay with God, what one sows matters. Bumper sticker ethics aside, what we sow matters to God, to those we instruct