The Sower Made Simple

Jesus told a story about a sower, some seed, and four kinds of soil -- and then He explained it Himself. The seed is the Word of God. The soils are the hearts that hear it: the packed path of the wayside, the shallow stony ground, the choking thorns, and the good ground that bears fruit thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold (Matthew 13:3-9; Mark 4:3-20).

The Sower Made Simple walks through the parable the way Jesus explained it. Twelve chapters meet the sower, examine each soil honestly, and show what makes the difference between a heart that hears and forgets and a heart that hears, keeps, and brings forth fruit with patience. The seed never fails. The sower never fails. The variable is the soil -- and the soil can be prepared.

Explicitly Trinitarian: the Father, Lord of the harvest; Jesus Christ -- Son of God and Son of Man, Lord and Savior -- the Sower and the Seed; and the Holy Spirit who alone breaks up fallow ground, pulls thorns by the roots, and gives life to the Word. Every prayer is to the Father, through Jesus Christ, by the Holy Spirit. Freedom from hard hearts is by the Spirit's power, never by willpower alone.

Read one chapter a day. Examine your soil honestly. Keep the Word. Bear fruit with patience.

More from Kimani Upshur: https://kimaniupshur.com