the Sower
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Then he spoke many things to them in parables, saying: “Behold, a sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them. Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth. But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root, they withered away. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them. But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!” Who hath ears to hear, let him hear…
Therefore hear the parable of the sower. When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside. But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles. Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful.
But he who received the seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.” - Matthew 13:3-23
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If one is to seek the way, the truth, and the life, one must follow the road less traveled by other men, lest the footsteps of others trod upon the seed and crush the Word. Faith can not be borrowed from or lent to another. Each person’s faith is his alone, and so each person’s path is unique to them also. The path of the Holy has been walked before, but it is each person’s responsibility to walk the path himself. For in following the ways of other men to God, you do not follow yourself to God.
When your salvation is at stake, your leader can not save you - you alone must save yourself. Your leader is not responsible for your salvation, though you may believe it easier for you if that were so, since it would save you much work and responsibility. For every person must save themselves through through their own faith, and not the faith of their leader. And so it is that a saved person is their own leader, and not the follower of another. Follow not the heart of another, for their heart is theirs, and your heart is yours. For God has given you your own heart, that you may lead yourself back to the heart of God.
It may be that a person is born or finds himself with a heart that is full of rocks and thorns, which scatter or choke the seeds of heaven. If you are such a one, shall you then give up and say, “Alas, I have a rocky heart or thorny heart, and so I can never enter into heaven”? There are some who would say, then this is the time for prayer and the grace of God. Yet you can wait a lifetime for your prayers to be answered, or wait an eternity for grace to be bestowed upon you. You can wait, yet it may never come. Believers of these two forces, prayer and grace, share one belief in common – only the Lord alone can ultimately remove rocks and thorns.
If a farmer has a field with rocks and thorns, what is he to do? No farmer ever grew a crop by staying at home and praying that the rocks and thorns in his fields disappeared. He went out into the field and removed them himself. Perhaps the rocks were heavy, and the thorns grew back persistently, yet still he went out to his field and labored. Nature and the hand of God cause the seed to grow, but the farmer must prepare the seed. He must till the field, fertilize the soil, sow the seed, water his crop, pull out weeds, and protect the crop. After he has done these things, then can he pray in good conscience. For no farmer grows anything without extending his own hand, as God does not grow anything without extending His hand. Every harvest is only possible because of both the labor of Man and the labor of God.
So I believe that if we find ourselves with such rocky or thorny hearts, it is WE ourselves who must remove the rocks and thorns, and it is we who must find the healthy and good soil inside our hearts, and if we do not find it then we must cultivate it. Only when the fields of our hearts are cleared of rocks and thorns, only when the proper soil is laid in place in the heart of a person, then will the seed of the Word begin to grow and thrive. And every person has their own field that is theirs alone, and belongs to no other – the field of their heart. Only they can labor in their own field, and no other – and so every person is a sower unto themselves. And so it is that as we sow, so shall we reap. If we do not sow, then we do not reap. And as we sow in our heart, so shall we reap in our life. For it is through the labors of men that God rewards, for as a person works and gives to God, so does God work and give back to that person.
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