Mark 4
While Jesus was on the boat in the sea, there was a gathering of people on land to hear Him teach. He began telling them a parable about a sower that went out to sow. As the sower sowed, some of his seeds were eaten by birds, some of his seeds fell on the stone where they had no soil to grow, and some seeds fell among thorns where there was no room to grow. But other seeds fell on good ground where there was good soil and the crop flourished. This is a metaphor for how we live our lives through Jesus. If our faith and relationship does not sit on a good foundation, then it will never have the chance to grow and prosper like He wants it to. We need to establish solid ground and not be strangled by the thorns in our life and our world. Often times, we can get caught up in the world and get swept away, but Jesus wants us to bear the fruit in our relationship. When it is just Jesus and the twelve apostles, He tells them that they know God’s kingdom because they are His believers, but those who are not believers just hear the parables as stories. It is until they believe without having to see or hear, that their sins are forgiven. He compares the people growing in the thorns and on stone, and the ones that grow on good soil. He says that the ones growing in the thorns and stone are the ones that Satan can reach and takes away the word. But those who grow on good soil are the ones who hear and accept the word and bear the fruit. Jesus tells us that He doesn’t want things to be hidden or kept in secret, through the lampstand parable. He compares a mustard seed to faith. He says that a mustard seed starts out so small but then once it is sown, it grows larger than any other herb. This is a representation of faith, something can start out so small and then grow so beautifully. When Jesus and the apostles were on the boat in the sea, a huge storm arose. They awoke Him, scared, so He ceased the storm. Jesus is the one who will calm our storms.