Seeds or Soils?
and environments for growth
In the parable of the sower and the seeds, do you think the seeds represent people or the word of God? I had thought that the seeds represented the word of God and the soils represented the people, but upon examining this parable, I’m not so sure anymore.
If you haven’t looked at this parable recently, check it out. You can find it in Matthew 13, Mark 4, and Luke 8. When explaining this parable, Jesus says the seeds are the word. But then he sometimes calls the seeds “it” and sometimes calls the seeds “he,” “himself,” “those who,” or “the one who.” This makes for some confusion. Why refer to the word of God as “he” or “those who?”
I have a sneaky suspicion that Jesus is using “word” and “people” interchangeably on purpose. This would imply that until God plants His word in us, we are just dirt. And if the seed does not take root, we will remain just dirt. If the seed does take root, we become like Christ. That is we become a word of God, which then produces a crop. Thus, our growth is both about how our soil receives God’s word and how we become a word spoken by God.
If you want to see a basic overview of how the Bible talks about seeds and growing elsewhere, here is a list. I think it’s noteworthy that seeds are used primarily to talk about people. BTW: if you want to go straight to the application, scroll down.
Some Seedy Verses
In Matthew 13:36-33 Jesus explains another parable with a sower and seeds. This time Jesus clearly says the field is the world and the seeds are people.
Ezekiel 36:8-9. These verses have too many metaphors even for my liking. This section says that Israel will be tilled and sowed. Here it sounds like the people represent soil.
Isaiah 40:24 describes rulers and princes of the earth as those who are planted, whose stems take root, and then are gone shortly after. Here people are described as seeds.
The Psalter often describes us like grass in a field. Does that mean we were a seed before that?
Jeremiah 31:27-28 describes the seed of man and the seeds of beasts, talking about populating the area with more people and animals. Again, here people and beasts are the seeds.
1 Peter 1:23 says we have been born again of an imperishable seed, through the living and abiding word of God. This sounds like we are born out of the seed.
1 Corinthians 3:5-9 describes how Paul planted the seed, Apollos watered, and God caused the growth. Then it describes the Corinthians as the field where this is happening. Again, here the soil and seed are both the people.
In 1 Corinthians 15:35-49, Paul seems to be describing seeds as people. There are physical bodies sown and spiritual bodies raised.
Galatians 6:8 talks about if we sow to the flesh, we reap flesh, but if we sow to the spirit, we reap eternal life.
1 John 3:9 says that God’s seed abides in us, that is we have been born of God. Here this sounds like we are the soil again.
Four Applications
What are the implications of Jesus describing us as both soils and seeds? I’m glad you asked. Here are a few I came up with.
ONE: If we are the seeds, we are a WORD of God. Just like Jesus was the first Word made flesh, God makes us words too through the planting of the word in us.
TWO: If we become words of God through God planting His word in us, our Christ-life becomes synonymous with our identity. There’s no distinction between Abby Stevens and the Word that is now within me. It’s like when we believe, our essence changes. Woaw! Crazy science!
THREE: To preserve and protect the word of God from being corrupted is to preserve and protect the people. To have the word of God be powerful and effective in our churches is to have the people become empowered and effective. To love God’s word is to love the people. To value God’s word is to value the people. To spread God’s word is to equip and multiply God’s people.
FOUR: If the soils represent the conditions of our physical surroundings as we receive and grow into God’s words, we have a little list here of what might stunt or prevent growth. Here are the three growth-stunters: 1, the evil one; 2, not understanding the word enough to make it through trials, and 3, the cares, riches, and pleasures of this life. I find it interesting that most of these happen within us.
FIVE: If we are to be seed-planters like Christ was a seed-planter, both in raising physical families and spiritual families, a game plan to equip, inform, and protect the children seems important.
Caring For Souls Inside and Out
I want to highlight this last point here, because I wonder if parents and churches get a bit mixed up at this part. I know I do. I tend to focus so much on creating an environment for growth without remembering that the seeds are my children.
What I mean by this is that we do a great job clothing our kids, feeding them, sheltering them, designing their rooms, making nutritional meals, protecting them from predators, providing the best education, driving them to extracurricular activities, and giving nice gifts for Christmas. But do we take time to do life with them, side by side? Do we remember that there’s more to growth than the environment in which they grow? Do we remember that growth is about being with the people too? Do we value, empower, equip, and teach our children how to live the seed-life by living the seed-life with them?
We could ask the same thing about our churches. We may do a great job planning luncheons, taking care of our buildings, handling the finances, holding Bible studies, fine-tuning the worship music, and guarding against false teaching, but if we don’t get to know the people, value them, supplement their weaknesses, empower their strengths, equip them to contribute, and enjoy spending time with them, we’re neglecting the seeds while focusing on the conditions of the soil.
To love others like Christ does is to not only create an environment for growth but to be with each other in that growth. To love someone is to do life together with them like Christ did with His followers on earth. Just as Christ was the seed-planter of his church, we are called to do likewise and be seed-planters in the fields of this world like Jesus was.
The parables definitely cannot be taken lightly as a nice story that Jesus told. Their purpose is to make us think more deeply, question, and discuss their meaning.