I once heard it said that ten percent of theology is actually teaching the truth of God, and the other ninety percent is just correcting all the ways people have gotten it wrong. It’s incredible how many people read the same Bible we do, and yet end up missing the whole point in countless different ways. What keeps people from understanding God’s Word? Heck, how can we be sure that our own understanding is right?
The gospel is a uniquely wonderful story, and the importance of what it teaches is unparalleled. But it also requires something of us: total devotion. In fairness, this is hard for most people (actually all of us, if we’re honest). That sort of faith and surrender requires us to alter our most basic beliefs about the world and about ourselves. And if we don’t, we won’t fully understand the gospel. Our response to God’s Word really ends up being all or nothing!
The parable of the sower is the only one that Jesus fully explains. In his explanation, he shows the different reasons why someone might hear God’s Word and still not receive it. For some people, they hear and don’t understand, and the Devil uses this to only build up the fortress of lies in their mind. For others, they hear and receive, but their roots are shallow because their foundation has not changed, and thus hardship quickly uproots them. For yet others, even when they receive the Word, they find themselves still convinced that the desires of this world are more worthwhile, and they fall away. But there are others still that hear the Word and understand it and recognize how exceptionally groundbreaking it is. In these people, we see transformation.
Don’t get the wrong idea: all of us are still susceptible to receiving the Word in bad kinds of soil. The forces of evil are still at work to try to keep us from understanding God’s Word and being transformed to be more like God. But God has also offered us new eyes to see and understand with wisdom! Jesus wanted us to cherish the Word of the Lord, give it all our attention, and let it change us down to our very foundations. Not everyone will receive the Word; not all will let it transform them. Let us be among those that do. Let us be a people of God’s Word who learns and loves the truth, and who thereafter bears fruit for the glory of our heavenly Father.
