Stories can be powerful vehicles for a message. We have learned that with movies. They can carry us to another place and time. They can bring us to worlds that don’t exist. They can have us sitting on the edge of our seats in suspense and the next moment settling in and relaxing.
There is a movie called “Noah” that is in production. Behind the scenes fighting about the message of the movie have bubbled to the surface. Can Hollywood really tell the story as it is? Or will they have to spin it so that they can swallow it themselves? All it takes is a few script changes and all the power of a movie can be destroyed. I am not sure how this one will turn out, but I can bet it won’t be on the side of Truth. I could see the global warming crowd spinning it as a prediction of what will happen if we don’t care for the planet. I could see the population alarmists spinning it as God’s condemnation on a planet that wouldn’t control its numbers. I am sure it won’t be a loving God who offered the opportunity of reconciliation with Himself for generations, finally follows through with the cleansing of the planet and a fresh start.
Jesus tells a powerful story to a crowd gathered. It is such a universally understood story that everyone can understand the story. Even if you have never planted any seeds, you understand that seeds won’t grow on concrete. They need soil.
But then Jesus takes the parts of the story, assigns a new object to the part and teaches a powerful spiritual lesson. The story can never be forgotten, so the lesson gets indelibly written as well. Jesus was a master teacher. Jesus gives the specifics to His disciples, and not to the crowds. Their hearts have been prepared to receive the full content of the story. The crowds have not had this preparation yet.
This parable also teaches us so much about how to interpret parables. Jesus breaks it down for us. He gives us the principle. Parts of the parable have other objects connected to them. The Farmer is the preacher of the Truth. The seed is God’s Word. The soil is a hearer’s spiritual readiness. Different soils get different results. Different levels of spiritual readiness produce different levels spiritual growth and therefore spiritual readiness.
How prepared in your heart to receive God’s Truth. Has life trampled you down so much that the Word just bounces off without being able to take root? Or is the spiritual condition of your heart one that has been prepared to receive God’s truth and produce a spiritual harvest?
The Arnold Journey 