Fixed vs Growth: The Obstacle of Lions, Birds and Thistles

Life is difficult, but in Christ we know that there are no obstacles in life can separate us from God.  We are God’s beloved, redeemed and cherished children; He is working everything for our good, to draw us close to Him and to bring us to Him eternally in heaven.  We can have a “growth mindset” about obstacles, but we don’t have to earn God’s favor with our struggles:  that battle is won.  We can persevere in life knowing that we are already destined for heaven.  A Christian with a growth mindset trusts in God in the face of obstacles, is strengthened and fortified by faith in Christ.  That also means that Satan is actively, aggressively working to weaken and destroy our faith in Christ.  Satan is alive and well, prowling like a roaring lion, seeking to devour Christians and demolish our inheritance in Christ.

In Matthew 13, Jesus tells the parable of the sower.  The sower heads out to his field, carrying his basket of seeds.  Maybe wheat or barley, maybe another grain, he tosses the seed high into the air, scattering it all around the plot of ground.  He is generous in his scattering, indiscriminate in where he aims the seeds.  Some seed lands on the path leading up to the field, a swath of dirt that has been tamped down by the passage of many feet; the birds swoop in and gobble up the seed, carrying it away before it can even begin to grow.  Some of the seed lands in a section of the field littered with rocks.  The soil here is very shallow, and while the seeds germinate quickly in the shallow soil they have no roots; the heat of the sun and the lack of moisture causes these seedlings to wither and die very soon after they sprout.  Some seeds land in a section of the field already thick with weeds.  These seedlings are choked by the weeds, which steal sunlight and nutrients, twining around or shadowing the fragile new plants to crush and kill them.  But there are seeds that fall on good soil, deep and fertile, rich in nutrients and free from weeds; these seeds sprout and flourish, producing a tremendous harvest.

Jesus tells this mysterious parable to the masses, but explains it clearly to His disciples and to us.  It is a parable of warning and promise.  Broadly, generously, God sows His word to the world, seeking to inspire faith in everyone who hears.  But those seeds are received variably. They are snatched away by metaphorical birds, by Satan working through ignorance, confusion and poor understanding.  Conflicting religions, false doctrine, false teachers without Christ-centered theology and without reliance on God’s word result in failure to reject human wisdom and humanist doctrine: the seeds of faith are snatched away.  The seeds that grow in rocky soil develop no roots, just as those who hear the word but fail to grow in faith and understanding have no depth of faith.  Failure to study and rely on God’s word and to seek His will, failure to fellowship with other Christians, failure to pray and participate in the sacraments; these failures leave a Christian with shallow roots.  When difficulties arrive in life—as invariably happens—those seedlings, those people, lack strong and resilient faith and instead wither and fail.  The seeds sown among thorns and weeds are those people who hear the word, but their faith is crowded and choked by worries and wealth, by the distractions of the world; they produce no fruit.  “The devil, the world and our flesh” is a phrase used to describe the enemies we fight in life, the obstacles to a life lived in faith.  Those enemies are exemplified in this parable.  

1)      Satan is maliciously active.  Like the birds in the parable, he wants to snatch away faith through confusion and misunderstanding.  How have you seen this happen in life—either to you, or to those you love?

2)      Where is the rocky, shallow soil in your life?  What has prevented you from putting down deep roots of faith? 

3)      What thorns and weeds are there in your life?  What worries of life or distractions of wealth and success have prevented you from growing and being fruitful?

In between Jesus telling of the parable of the sower and His explanation, He explains that He speaks in parables because some hearts are too hard to hear what He has to say.  He quotes Isaiah, and says that the people’s hearts are calloused, they are deaf and blind (vs 15):  they are immune to the power of God’s Spirit, His presence that overcomes confusion, strengthens us in persecution and guides us in times of trouble.  If we trust in our own righteousness, we are like the Pharisees; we trust in our own power and wisdom and are hardened against seeing our need for Christ.  His word falls on deaf ears.  Instead, we must recognize our constant need for God, His power, His redeeming love, His guiding presence.  In Christ, there are no obstacles; without Him, we are vulnerable victims of the roaring lions, ravenous birds and choking thistles of life.