“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.” (Matt. 13:3–9)
Then His close friends asked what His story meant. So Jesus explained,
“When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes [by force] 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 [pressure] or persecution [harassment, annoyance] 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.” (Matt. 13:19–22)
“But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.” (Luke 8:15)
Jesus used this story to explain to His friends the reality they were living in. The story concludes with someone gloriously flourishing, productive, and prolific because that person had a good and noble heart, heard and retained truth, and persevered. Persevered through what? And what does that have to do with retaining truth and having a noble heart? I believe Jesus’ point in the story was that living this type of life, living in our glory, and finding our place in God’s Greater Story is opposed. It’s not simply that life is filled with hard things or that good things take effort, but that we have an Enemy.
The path to a fruitful, impressive, dynamic life is fraught with opposition (“snatches away,” “falls away,” “choked”) ... and we must live with our eyes open. To overcome this kind of opposition will take perseverance because there is a fierce and strategic assault against us; someone wants us to fail.
