Take Care Then How You Hear
Matthew’s Gospel, chapter 13, verses 1 to 9
That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. 2 Such large crowds gathered round him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. 3 Then he told them many things in parables, saying: ‘A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop – a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. 9 Whoever has ears, let them hear.’
Matthew 13:1-9 New International Version – UK (NIVUK) Holy Bible, New International Version® Anglicized, NIV® Copyright © 1979, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
- How DO “people” respond to the word of God?
- Soil Number 1: The Path – so hard that the seed of God’s word just bounces off!
- Soil Number 2: The Stony Ground – the seed can’t get its roots in, and dies.
- Soil Number 3: The Thorny Ground – the seeds sprout up, but are choked by the thorns.
- Soil Number 4: The Fruitful Ground – the seeds sprout, grow and produce a good crop.
Take care then how you hear! Don’t be fatalistic, “I’m the soil I am, and can’t change.” No, we are told by Jesus to “Take care!”
