We're probably all familiar with the Parable of the Sower (see Matthew 13), but let's do a quick recap:
A farmer sowed his seed on four kinds of soil: the hard packed path, where the seed couldn't take root; rocky places with shallow soil, where the roots could not go deep; soil filled with thorns that choked out the crop; and good, fertile soil that produced a harvest. Jesus said these soils correspond to people who do not understand the gospel, people who respond initially to the gospel but fall away when hard times come, people whose love of this world keep the gospel from being fruitful in them, and people who respond to the gospel and produce a crop.
The New Testament uses several agricultural metaphors for the Kingdom and for the work of the gospel. Elsewhere, Paul talks about the gospel ministry saying some sow and some water (1Cor 3:6), and Jesus says some sow and some reap (John 4:37). When I put that with the Parable of the Sower, I have to ask: Does anybody plow?
There's a danger that we could try to over-interpret metaphors. Parables are generally meant to teach one truth, maybe two. But the abundance of farming imagery makes we wonder if we're supposed to use that as a guide in how we think about the work of the gospel.
Farmers can prepare their fields. They can remove rocks, pull or poison weeds, and apply fertilizer. Sometimes fields need to be left fallow for a season. There are many ways to prepare the soil to make it more fertile. While acknowledging only God makes things grow (1Cor 3:6-7), can we improve the soil for the gospel?
Let's assume for the sake of argument we can. How would we go about that?
What about that hard packed earth where the seed cannot get into the soil? Can we help people be more receptive to the truth of the gospel? Blaise Pascal advised us to make the gospel attractive, make people wish it were true. How do we help people see the beauty of the gospel? One way we can do this is to show them how the gospel changes people, to show them the good works born out of love for Jesus. The good we do is not the gospel, but it can plow the field before the sower.
We can tell people how the gospel meets our deepest needs and answers our most important questions. Am I valuable? Do I have a purpose? Is there any point in this world? Is there a way out of the guilt I feel? Show people that the gospel is what they've been looking for, then maybe they'll be ready to hear it.
CS Lewis said that it was fiction, especially the writings of George MacDonald, that awakened in him a desire for things this world could not provide, causing him to look for more. Can we write fiction that awakens such desires? Maybe that causes people to ask questions that only the gospel can answer? Can we use what others have written as a bridge? Even the pagan spirituality of Star Wars or the Christ imagery in Harry Potter may speak to people and create a crack in the ground in which a seed might fall.
Of course, as far as many are concerned, the gospel is ridiculous. After all, "there is no God, science has proved miracles can't happen, and Jesus probably never existed." To till that soil, we need to be able to answer the questions people have, even to meet objections that cause them to shut out the gospel. This is likely to be a long, slow process in most cases, but there are those who have bent the knee to Christ after those questions were answered.
For most American Christians, the extent of their evangelism is inviting people to church, but there's only so much a preacher can do from the pulpit. If we can prepare the soil so that it is receptive when they walk into church, the pastor's sermon may actually reach them, and the Spirit may cause that seed to take root.
What about the rocky soil? I don't know what could do to remove the stones, but I know what we do that could place them: Too many present the gospel as the solution to all your problems. Jesus does not promise believers an easy life free of trouble, and neither should we. Instead, we need to be honest about how hard it can be. Jesus said, "In this world you will have trouble" (John 16:33), and Paul advised, "everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted" (2Tim 3:12).
Someone once summed it up: "Come work for the Lord. The work is hard, the hours are long, and the pay is low, but the retirement benefits are out of this world." There will always be some who fall away with things get tough, but it might help if we were more honest up front about how things are likely to go.
What do you think? Can we prepare the fields for the gospel? What other things can we do to help people? I would very much like to hear any ideas you have.
Image via Unsplash
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