Max Lucado tells the story like this: The faces of the three men were solemn as the mayor informed them of the catastrophe. “The rains have washed away the bridge. During the night many cars drove over the edge and into the river.” “What can we do?” asked one. “You must stand on the side of the road and warn the drivers not to make the left turn. Tell them to take the one-lane road that follows the side of the river.”
“But they drive so fast! How can we warn them?” “By wearing these sandwich signs,” the mayor explained, producing three wooden double-signs, hinged together to hang from one’s shoulders. “Stand at the crossroads so drivers can see these signs until I can get someone out there to fix the bridge.” And so the men hurried out to the dangerous curve and put the signs over their shoulders.
“The drivers should see me first,” spoke one. The others agreed. His sign warned, “Bridge Out!” He walked several hundred yards before the turn and took his post.
“Perhaps I should be second, so the drivers will slow down,” spoke the one whose sign declared, “Reduce Speed.”
“Good idea,” agreed the third. “I’ll stand here at the curve so people will get off the wide road and onto the narrow.” His sign read simply “Take Right Road” and had a finger pointing toward the safe route.
And so the three men stood with their three signs ready to warn the travelers of the washed-out bridge. As the cars approached, the first man would stand up straight so the drivers could read, “Bridge Out.”
Then the next would gesture to his sign, telling the cars to “Reduce Speed.” And as the motorists complied, they would then see the third sign, “Right Road Only.” Though the road was narrow, the cars complied and were safe. Hundreds of lives were saved by the three sign holders. Because they did their job, many people were kept from peril.
But after a few hours they grew lax in their task. The first man got sleepy. “I’ll sit where people can read my sign as I sleep,” he decided. So he took his sign off his shoulders and propped it up against a boulder. He leaned against it and fell asleep. As he slept his arm slid over the sign, blocking one of the two words. So rather than read “Bridge Out”, his sign simply stated “Bridge.”
The second didn’t grow tired, but he did grow conceited. The longer he stood warning the people the more important he felt. A few even pulled off the side of the road to thank him for the job well done.
“We might have died had you not told us to slow down,” they applauded. “You’re so right,” he thought to himself. “How many people would be lost were it not for me?”
Presently he came to think that he was just as important as his sign. So he took it off, set it up on the ground, and stood beside it. As he did, he was unaware the he, too, was blocking one word of this warning. He was standing in front of the word “Speed.” All the drivers could read was the word “Reduce.” Most thought he was advertising a diet plan.
The third man was not tired like the first, nor self-consumed like the second. But he was concerned about the message of his sign. “Right Road Only,” it read. It troubled him that his message was so narrow, so dogmatic. “People should be given a choice in the matter. Who am I to tell them which is the right road and which is the wrong road?” So he decided to alter the wording of the sign. He marked out the word “Only” and changed it to “Preferred.”
“Hmm,” he thought, “that’s still too strident. One is best not to moralize.” So he marked out the word “Preferred” and wrote “Suggested.” That still didn’t seem right, “Might offend people if they think I’m suggesting I know something they don’t.” So he thought and thought and finally marked through the word “Suggested” and replaced it with a more neutral phrase. “Ahh, just right,” he said to himself as he backed off and read the words: “Right Road – One of Two Equally Valid Alternatives.”
And so as the first man slept and the second stood and the third altered the message, one car after another plunged into the river. (Adapted from Max Lucado, www.maxlucado.com)
A parable is a story that reveals a deeper meaning and Jesus was a master storyteller. He spoke in parables all the time because people like stories and we remember them. And when he applied spiritual truth to his parables they were easy for people to understand and remember as they journeyed through life. He wanted people to get a picture in their head because he knew that if he could get them to visualize it, they would remember it.
Matthew 13 is just loaded with parables, stories that capture the imagination and drive home a point. Jesus says again and again: “Picture this!” because I want you to get it so you can go home with it.”
Jesus was a celebrity so wherever he went people followed him. One time an immense crowd was following him so he led them to the side of a lake where he got in a boat and pushed out a little way from the shore so everyone could hear him. Then he told this parable:
"A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. He who has ears, let him hear." Matthew 13:3b-9 NIV
After he spoke people could picture what he said because they were farmers or knew farmers or at a bare minimum understood how a farmer planted their seed. In Jesus time a farmer would take a handful of seed, walk and throw it on the ground trying to scatter it. The people got the picture of what he was talking about in their mind. It made sense to them. They could imagine a farmer scattering seed as he walked through his field. And just to make sure that they knew exactly what he was talking about Jesus went on to explain this parable.
"Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed sown along the path. The one who received the seed that fell on rocky places is the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away. The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful. But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown." Matthew 13:18-23
The people had the picture of the farmer in their minds and now Jesus has just made the story personal. He is saying that sometimes when the word of God is spoken some people just blow it off. Those that pay no attention to God or his truths are just like the hard soil. Nothing spiritual is going to grow in their lives. Their hearts are hard and the word of God will just fall on deaf ears. If were to put a percentage on it we could accurately say that 25% of those who hear about the love of God will just ignore it. Their hearts are hard.
Another 25% of those who hear about God will believe and maybe go to church and read their Bible and try and change their lives and may even grow for a little while but at some point they burned out. At first they were all joyful but it didn’t last. The trials of life and just the daily grind killed whatever spiritual growth they did have. Now their spiritual life is all but dead.
The third group, again 25%, heard about God and began to grow but they got to caught up in worldly wealth and pursuing things that really don’t matter. Instead of being generous and giving with their lives and money they spend it on themselves and never really help anyone. So Jesus says even though they are growing they aren’t producing anything.
Then there are 25% who hear the word of God and let it grow in their life. They make changes and get in tune with God. And the results are good because they start producing a spiritual crop. Because they remain planted more people have hope. Because they remain planted more marriages are reconciled. Because they are planted more kids can hear about Jesus. Jesus says that those who are planted eventually produce great things.
I have asked Molly to share with us this morning. She has lived on the path, in shallow soil, with the weeds, and in the good soil.
MOLLY
You reap what you sow. We’ve all hear it, but do we really think about it? If we do, than why do we still make some of those rotten, stinkin, awful choices? Are our excuses good?
I’ve been lucky to have God in my life ever since I can remember. Going to church, Pioneer Girls (like Awana), Bible study, youth groups and eventually my school. Memorizing Bible verses, learning and singing Jesus songs, that just what we did. My mother lived for singing with children about Jesus. I can still see her waving her arms in the air & smiling. You know, I had to idea how those verses and songs would instantly come to mind when in need as I got older.
I knew the ropes. I knew the good soil from the bad soil. But that didn’t mean I always wanted to stay planted in the good soil. Sometimes I kind of wanted to replant myself.
I had a short period of time, ok, ten years plus, when I did just that. I decided that I wanted to grow in the weeds. My choices become unhealthy, self-centered, and self-destructive. I ran and managed bars for years. I even made a bet and won a bar which I ran for a year and a half. Let me say that running a bar as an alcoholic was the ideal job………for a weed. I have spent a night or two or three or longer in jail. Let me tell you, that wasn’t fun.
For ten years I lived on rocky soil with weeds always knowing where the good soil was. I left the good soil because I think I just got tired of doing the right thing. I actually tried to convince myself that hanging out in the weed patch was better for me than staying in the good soil and producing good stuff. I thought I was missing out on things but you know what I was missing out on? Loving myself and sharing God’s love with those around me. I was missing out on caring for others and living with a purpose. It took me ten years to realize that the weeds in my life didn’t care about me, even the weeds with flowers.
Then in my late 20’s I realized that living among the weeds wasn’t producing anything. I had spent more than ten years of my life bouncing around producing nothing. So I sobered up and went back to the good soil. And God has been doing some cool things in my life. I have a great family, a wonderful husband, my own business, and a great church which has helped me to continue to grow and produce stuff that pleases God. And I am having a blast doing it.
I never realized the responsibility my parents took on shaping and building our world with Christ. I never realized how hard they worked to make sure I was planted in good soil. Where would I be today without Christ or them? I am very grateful to have a mom and dad who loved me unconditionally and a heavenly Father who never gave up on me.
Each day is such a gift. Every small act we do affects the whole picture. The world does seem to have a lot to offer. But when you compare it to the grace and love God give us, regardless of who we are or what we’ve done – it doesn’t even come close to living in the light of Christ – Our Healthy soil. I want to continue to stay planted in the good soil and help produce a harvest of good things that help others. Thank you.
Jesus told this parable for a number of reasons. And ever time I read it I have to ask myself, what kind of soil am I planted in? What type of soil and I growing in?
The questions:
Is my heart hard?
Is God working in your life or still working in your life? Maybe something has happened that has thrown you for a loop and right now your heart is as hard as a rock. If that’s you, maybe you need to tumble over onto the good soil and begin to produce a crop with your life again.
Does my faith have any depth?
Maybe you just started coming to church or maybe you have been coming for years and every week you walk in then walk out. Maybe you don’t feel like yo are groing spiritually that much. If this description fits you I would suggest that you take a risk and join a small group. Tumble onto the good soil and really start to grow. Start to produce a crop that makes a difference. In this world there are a million things that you can join or participate in but not all of them really matter. They may be fun but they don’t produce anything. Why not do something that’s both fun and worthwhile.
Am I living among weeds?
After I became a Christian it didn’t take me long to recognize that I was living in a weed patch. My friends abused alcohol and many were chemically dependant. They bounced in and out of empty relationships always trying to impress the next future ex. So I decided that if I really wanted to pursue my faith I needed to hang out with less weeds. So when I tumbled over onto the good soil my life really began to change. If you know exactly what I am talking about maybe you need to tumble onto the good soil too.
Am I willing to produce a crop?
This is what’s fun. Staying plated in the good soil is a choice that’s completely up to you. You can uproot and move anytime you want too. But I it the right thing to do? Will you really be happy in the middle of the road or in the cracks or with the weeds? No.
I have been a pastor for going on twelve years. And I can honestly say that I have talked to people whose hearts were hard as stone. And I have really been receptive to God during a crisis or when their marriage fell apart but after the crisis was over, so was their faith. And I have talked with even more people who were living among the weeds. They just didn’t think that they needed to change so they have continued to live for themselves and haven’t produced a thing for as long as I have known them. And I have also met people like my wife who were planted in the good soil or started to grow in the good soil and have never moved. And they are producing a crop that everyone else just dreams of making.
The funny thing is that almost always everyone thinks they are planted in the good soil. And I have no doubt that they want to be but for hundreds of reasons they just aren’t doing anything with their faith anymore. For most people it’s a gradual death. At first they go to church every week and read their Bible everyday. Then they miss a day or two and a week or two and then a month or two and pretty soon I never see them again.
It always breaks my heart to see people throw their relationship with God away because it’s so important and so significant so transformational. But I guess if Jesus says that essentially only 25% of those who hear the word of God will ever produce a crop I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. This morning I want to invite you to tumble over onto the good soil. Get planted and start producing.
You can do that by committing to coming to church and worshipping God every week. And you can do that by joining a small group. And you can do that by giving generously. And you can do that by praying. And you can do that by serving, helping, sharing, caring. You have it in you, just let God water you and see what comes of it. The choice is up to you. AMEN.
