The parable of the sower is a wonderful illustration of how God’s Word produces a change in an individual. The seeds spread by the sower are the word of God. The soil represents us. God gives us an illustration of four types of soil.

A sower went out to sow his seed: and as he sowed, some fell by the way side; and it was trodden down, and the fowls of the air devoured it.
And some fell upon a rock; and as soon as it was sprung up, it withered away, because it lacked moisture.
And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprang up with it, and choked it.
And other fell on good ground, and sprang up, and bare fruit an hundredfold. And when he had said these things, he cried, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

Luke 8:5-8

• “The Wayside” : Satan snatches up the word and it doesn’t grow
• “Rocky Soil” : Immediately the word is received with joy, but withers under the first trials
• “Thorny Ground” : This seems to grow and take root, but is eventually taken out by the cares of life
• “Good Ground” : This is the ground that receives the seed with a good heart and the seed is able to grow to maturity and produce a crop.

It is very easy to assume that the four types of soil are four types of people. However, I think it’s very dangerous to group people into these categories. If you were to say the soils were types of people then it could lead you to the belief that you are who you are and there’s nothing you can do about it. You could begin to believe that you must be the soil with the thorns, because the cares of life continue to choke the joy of the word out of you. You may believe that you are the shallow ground, because every time you get into church again, you get excited about it but the excitement soon fades. So, while many would interpret the soil to be a person, I believe the best interpretation of the soil is that it represents a way of listening and the current state of a person’s heart. The point is this, you can become a better soil. He that has ears to hear, let him hear. 

The Soil is How You Hear, not Who You Are…

In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus immediately follows the parable of the sower with the parable of light. The parable of light comes with this warning: “Be careful how you listen”. The two parables being together is not an accident, there is no transition from one parable to the other. Jesus goes from the first straight into the second. The parable of light is further explanation to the parable of the sower.

No man, when he hath lighted a candle, covereth it with a vessel, or putteth it under a bed; but setteth it on a candlestick, that they which enter in may see the light.
For nothing is secret, that shall not be made manifest; neither any thing hid, that shall not be known and come abroad.
Take heed therefore how ye hear: for whosoever hath, to him shall be given; and whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he seemeth to have.

Luke 8:16-18

The parable of the lighted candle gives some much needed clarity to the previous story of the sower. You see, the man that lights a candle is God. The man that sows the seed is God. This shows us that God’s intent in lighting a candle or sowing seed is the same. The purpose is that we would produce fruit for others to see. God’s gives us light in order that all can see His glory as we become a reflection of Him.

The thing that is very important to take away here is that God wants the seed to grow. He wants to produce fruit in you and me. There is a dangerous thought that has been in the Church for far too long; that everything that happens is God’s will, good or bad. This is simply not true. God gives you light so that another can see. God gives you His word so that you will produce fruit. Any other result is not the will of God for you.

If it’s not God’s will, then whose is it?

The seed is the word of God.

Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.
They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away.
And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection.
But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.

Luke 8:11-15

As Jesus explains here, the one who wants you to go through temptations and fall short is the devil. Many may respond with these words or the like, “Well, God allowed it”. The idea that God is working with Satan, by using Satan to accomplish God’s dirty work is just a horrible way of going through life. It is not an image of goodness, nor a picture of a good Father. Jesus said that “a house divided against itself cannot stand” Matthew 12:25. This statement was to show how ridiculous it would be for Satan to cast out Satan. In other words, Satan will not do the works of God and God will not do the works of Satan, nor will God work with Satan.

The goodness and grace of God will search for the lost. The love of God will try to turn all of the evil that Satan does into good. God will always work for good, but this does not, and can not mean that God allowed Satan to take away from you, just so God’s purpose would be accomplished. Notice in the parable that the seed that fell on good ground is the one that accomplished the will of God. The seed that fell on good ground was not helped along by the enemy.

Part of hearing… is realizing you can

Anytime the scripture repeats something over and over for me to do, I look at it as a permission slip to do just that. On the one hand, I believe that without God’s assistance and without Him opening my understanding I can’t possibly understand His word. On the other hand, I can clearly see in this passage alone, not counting tons of other passages that talk about this, that God’s will is for me to understand. My Pastor would put it this way:“God is a gentleman who will not force himself on you”. He clearly illustrates his desire for you to hear, so if you only will choose to hear, He will open your ears.

Ask God for Understanding

But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.

James 1:5 NASB

God will open up the understanding of anyone who seeks Him. He wants you to have an intimate relationship with Him. If you have ears to hear, I beg you to open them up and hear. You may to change the way you read your Bible. Don’t just read your Bible to fill your daily quota. I believe discipline is important, but if your daily Bible reading is just something that you do to “check the box” on your list, then you may be missing out. God wants every word sown into your life to grow to maturity and produce fruit. Take your time and make sure that the word has a good and noble heart to fall on. Make sure you are listening, that you are in a place of humility, ready to accept whatever it is that the word has for you.

I hope my thoughts on this passage have been helpful to you. There is so much more that God is saying in these scriptures. I encourage you to read them again on your own and I am sure I will follow up with more thoughts as well. If you have a passage of scripture that you would like me to study on, please feel free to leave it in the comments below. May God bless you and love on you like never before!