FROM MARK 4:1-20 IN THE BIBLE

He [Jesus] went back to teaching by the sea. A crowd built up to such a great size that He had to get into an offshore boat, using the boat as a stage. The people pushed to the water’s edge. He taught by using stories, many times.

“Listen. What do you make of this? A farmer planted seed. As he scattered the seed, some of it fell on the road and birds ate it. Some fell in the gravel. It grew quickly but didn’t put down roots, so when the sun came up it withered very quickly. Some fell in the weeds; as it came up, it was strangled among the weeds and nothing came of it. Some fell on good earth and came up with a flourish producing a harvest exceeding his wildest dreams.”  

“Are you listening to this? Really listening?”

When they were off by themselves, those who were close to Him, along with the Twelve, asked about the stories. He told them, “You’ve been given insight into God’s kingdom — you know how it works. But to those who can’t see it yet, everything comes in stories, creating readiness, nudging them toward receptive insight. There are people —

Whose eyes are open but don’t see a thing.

Whose ears are open but don’t understand a word.

Who avoid making an about-face and getting forgiven.”

He continued, “Do you see how this story works? All my stories work this way The farmer plants the Word. Some people are like the seed that falls on the hardened soil of the road. No sooner do they hear the Word than Satan snatches away what has been planted in them.”

“And some are like the seed that lands in the gravel. When they first hear the Word, they respond with great enthusiasm. But there is such shallow soil of character that when the emotions wear off and some difficulty arrives there is nothing to show for it.”

“The seed cast in the weeds represents the ones who hear the kingdom news but are overwhelmed with worries about all the things they have to do and all the things they want to get.. The stress strangles what they heard and nothing comes of it.”

“But the seed planted in the good earth represents those who hear the Word, embrace it, and produce a harvest beyond their wildest dreams.”

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We have seen many people drift away from the church after being baptized; we do not want that to happen to you. So our advice is: keep coming to church regularly, learn how to pray and study your Bible, and God will be able to use you to “produce a harvest beyond your wildest dreams.”