Parable of the Sower
Frans Floris - The Sacrifice of Jesus Christ, Son of God, Gathering and Protecting Mankind - WGA7949 (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) The parable of the soils raises the same question about our lives. Will we be fruitful, fertile followers of Jesus Christ ? Not only does the parable raise the question, but it gives us a hope and a warning in answer. To rest on the hope and heed the warning, we must understand the context of the parable. When Jesus began to announce the arrival of the kingdom of God , He spoke amid high expectations. His hearers’ ancestors had been taken into exile and captivity because they had broken covenant with God. The prophets had made the case for God’s just punishment of their idolatry and injustice. But the prophets’ message was not exclusively woe, for they also had promised a day of restoration when God would set up His visible earthly reign through His anointed one (Messiah). Two things would happen: Israel’s oppressors would be defeated and pure worship wo