The Bible has been translated into almost every language. It’s available all over the world. But very often, it’s ignored. Jesus told a parable which explained the reason.
‘A sower went out to sow’ (Matthew 13:3). You can read the parable for yourself. It’s a simple story of a man who scattered seed on his land. The seed grew differently in different types of ground.
When Jesus came to explain the parable (verses18-23) he focused upon the seed and its effect. It is the message, the word of the Kingdom, that is the seed. But from where does it come? It is spoken by Jesus but it comes from God – He is effectively the farmer Who has sown the seed into the world.
How does God feel about the sowing of His precious seed in the world? Two Bible passages spring to mind.
The first is Psalm 126:6, which tells us about the man who has a small farm and has to feed his family on what is grown on the land. In addition he has to save seed to plant for the next harvest. In order to do that, sometimes the man and his family go hungry because there is not enough to eat and sow – there is a choice to be made.
He who goes out weeping,
bearing the seed for sowing,
shall come home with shouts of joy,
bringing his sheaves with him.
This gives us also a picture of God Himself – not weeping because He goes out hungry, because He has all the resources of the Universe at His disposal. But He is saddened by the fact that so few genuinely respond. Too many are superficial, hard-hearted, choked off be the materialism of the age. There is so little really good ground. He gave us all free will to choose – so few choose to listen to Him.
Scattered Seed
God has scattered His seed generously all over the world. The good news of the Kingdom is readily available throughout most of the world. His great consolation is that at the harvest of the ages, the day of judgement, there will be great joy for Him and for those – called ‘good ground’ – who have listened and grown to bear fruit in their lives.
The second Bible passage is John 3:16, which shows that all who will hear are given the opportunity to respond.
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
The precious gift of God’s only begotten Son to the world is another cause for God’s sadness, because Jesus was persecuted and died on the cross to bring us hope of life.
The joyous thing is that Jesus rose from the dead and is alive for ever. So we are told that God rejoices over the harvest – when a sinner repents and responds to the prompting of His word (Luke 15:10).
In fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep… But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death (1 Corinthians 15:20-26).
The seed has been sown. The choice is yours as to how you respond. Will God’s precious gift of Jesus come to have real meaning in your life?
David Nightingale