Monday 3 February 2014

There are Christians and There are Christians


“Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable?  
The farmer sows the word.  
Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them.  
Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy.  
But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away.  
Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful.  
Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—thirty, sixty or even a hundred times what was sown.” 
                                                     Mark 4:13-20.
The above scripture Mark 4:13-20 is Jesus’s explanation of the parable of the sower.
It is a scripture that is quite often used wrongly by the so called name it claim it crowd. Those who would say if you give to God a hundred dollars he’ll give back to you thirty, sixty even a hundred times.
They encourage people to sow into their ministry and when the rewards don’t come as they say. They explain it away that the person sowing didn’t have enough faith. This is pure and simply a lie.
This parable is talking about evangelization. About a farmer, you and me and any other believer in Christ that is presenting the Word of God to the world around us.
Jesus points out that the seeds of the Word we sow falls basically on four kinds of people.
The first are those who hear it but it dismiss it. They are turned away either by Satan or their own preconceived ideas that God is not real.
The second are those who receive the Word but they are very shallow people with no real roots. They are joyful upon hearing it. They are caught up in perhaps the emotion of the moment, be it in a church, at a large rally or even in someone’s living room. but don’t take it to heart and eventually turn away from God.
The third are those who hear but the word is choked off by the cares of this world. By the focus on earthly things such as the building up of wealth, possessions and other things. None of which are bad things. Still they can, if not kept in perspective, keep a person from finding true riches in God.
The fourth is the person who takes the word of God to heart and allows it to grow in their heart and life.
They cultivate it and grow in power and strength in Christ. They go on to produce a crop of believers themselves and produce in abundance.
Thus not all Christians are alike although they may call themselves Christians many are not truly living the life. Which if you think about it explains the differences in the lifestyles of some Christians.
Now having heard all of that tell me what kind of ground are you?
Are you committed to Christ? Have you dismissed Christianity and God as not being real or are you somewhere in the middle? Think about it.

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