Stories
can be powerful vehicles for a message. We have learned that with movies. They
can carry us to another place and time. They can bring us to worlds that don’t
exist. They can have us sitting on the edge of our seats in suspense and the next
moment settling in and relaxing.
There
is a movie called “Noah” that is in production. Behind the scenes fighting
about the message of the movie have bubbled to the surface. Can Hollywood
really tell the story as it is? Or will they have to spin it so that they can
swallow it themselves? All it takes is a few script changes and all the power
of a movie can be destroyed. I am not sure how this one will turn out, but I
can bet it won’t be on the side of Truth. I could see the global warming crowd
spinning it as a prediction of what will happen if we don’t care for the
planet. I could see the population alarmists spinning it as God’s condemnation
on a planet that wouldn’t control its numbers. I am sure it won’t be a loving
God who offered the opportunity of reconciliation with Himself for generations,
finally follows through with the cleansing of the planet and a fresh start.
Jesus
tells a powerful story to a crowd gathered. It is such a universally understood
story that everyone can understand the story. Even if you have never planted
any seeds, you understand that seeds won’t grow on concrete. They need soil.
But
then Jesus takes the parts of the story, assigns a new object to the part and
teaches a powerful spiritual lesson. The story can never be forgotten, so the
lesson gets indelibly written as well. Jesus was a master teacher. Jesus gives
the specifics to His disciples, and not to the crowds. Their hearts have been
prepared to receive the full content of the story. The crowds have not had this
preparation yet.
This
parable also teaches us so much about how to interpret parables. Jesus breaks
it down for us. He gives us the principle. Parts of the parable have other
objects connected to them. The Farmer is the preacher of the Truth. The seed is
God’s Word. The soil is a hearer’s spiritual readiness. Different soils get
different results. Different levels of spiritual readiness produce different
levels spiritual growth and therefore spiritual readiness.
How
prepared in your heart to receive God’s Truth. Has life trampled you down so
much that the Word just bounces off without being able to take root? Or is the
spiritual condition of your heart one that has been prepared to receive God’s
truth and produce a spiritual harvest?