The Seed is the Word of God

In the parable of the sower, Jesus said that the seed is the word of God (Luke 8:11). Jesus used this parable to teach some essentials concerning the kingdom of God. Among the lessons found are that the harvest comes only after the planting of the seed; that the seed produces only after its own kind, and not all types of soil are good to produce valued crops. Of course, Jesus was not really teaching us how to be good farmers at all, but using that as an illustration of some similar spiritual truths. He was teaching us about spreading, or planting the word of the gospel and the different reactions that are encountered when the gospel is taught.

First, in order for a conversion to take place, there must be teaching. You cannot produce a Christian apart from planting the right seed, that being the word of God. Just as turnip seeds cannot produce tomatoes, other creeds than the gospel cannot produce Christians. A farmer understands this principle, and we should apply its spiritual side and make certain that we are accurately representing the gospel of Christ both in our words and actions.

Also, we need to understand that not every heart is ready to respond in a positive way to the gospel. Just like some soil, a heart might become rock hard and unyielding, making it difficult for faith to grow there. Other hearts might be crowded with other things, such as materialism, greed, selfishness, hatreds, immorality and so forth. These things, as thorns and weeds, might choke the life out of a faith just beginning to grow. But there will also be times when the gospel is received by good and honest hearts and yield much fruit. God gives the increase.