Seeds on the Wayside

Matthew 13:4 And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up:..19 When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side.

Mark 4:4 And it came to pass, as he sowed, some fell by the way side, and the fowls of the air came and devoured it up...15 And these are they by the way side, where the word is sown; but when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts.

Luke 8:5 A sower went out to sow his seed: and as he sowed, some fell by the way side; and it was trodden down, and the fowls of the air devoured it...12 Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.

Each of these three chapters of verses from Matthew, Mark and Luke take me back to the path of darkness my soles once walked where the thirst of unrighteousness was deep and long, with no quenching in site.  The extremities is why I can relate to the man in hell in Luke 16:24 "And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame."  That was my thirst of unrighteousness and uncleanliness.    

It took one day in jail where Jesus himself shows up.  He shows up in the Word of God to plant a seed through the Holy Bible.  Genesis 1 and 2 brought truth to my soul that was longing to hear but Satan kept devouring and taking the seed,        Why did God want my soul?  Why someone like me?  It is beyond me.  He just did.  It took many years for satan to stop stealing the good seeds from the Lord.  I truly went through all four seed phases.  This one is the worst and hardest to break.  The truth of the Word of God is what sets you on a path of righteousness and cleanliness.  

The picture above is the perfect one, the word of Jesus comes down and fowls, in this case chickens and roosters, eat it before the seed can grow.  Satan kept stealing my seeds but the word of God kept penetrating my heart, soul, mind and strength.  It was a battle for my soul between God and Satan.  At the same time God is planting seeds, God is also pruning me of all the bad in my life like envy, hatred, lust, anger, fornication, drunkenness, variance and all the other works of the flesh found in Galatians 5:19-21.  Jesus had to replace all of the works of the flesh with "Fruits of the Spirit" found in Galatians 5:22-23.  Jesus says in Matthew 7:20 "Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them."  The war was fierce.  

The irony is some of these people can be considered good people.  They do good things,  they don't live by the fruits of the spirit but they also don't ever commit works of the flesh.  There are people like this, it is extreme and rare, but not as rare as you think.  Some of the nicest people I know, have zero faith in Jesus or God but are really good people.  I was one of them that thought, "I am a good person".  Now, there are others that violate all of the works of flesh daily and are truly awful people.  Lastly, there others that are in between the two extremes. 

Life without Christ, is a life that leads to death with torment in Hell.  Life with Christ, leads to everlasting life in Heaven.  Jesus paid the price on the Cross.  This and every Easter is a reminder of the grace and mercy Jesus pad on the cross.  For me, it is a reminder every day because the swamps of evil in my life were thick, shallow, dark, dirty, and vile.  Had Jesus not introduce himself to me, I would still be in those swamps.  He rescued me and can rescue you.  

Does Satan have you in a strong hold or is ruling your life not Jesus? Does the fowl, the birds, steal the Word of God, the seed, out of your heart?  Ask Jesus to show you the truth of the word of God.  Ask Jesus for the good seed to be sown into your life, to breath truth and righteousness, grace and mercy into your very heart, soul, mind and strength.  The seed tries to plant and grow, but you are not letting Jesus into your life but trusting the devil as the ruler of your life.  

Jesus took all of the seed that could be taken by the devil at the Cross for each one of us to have good seed sown in our lives.  The word of God has to take root in your soul but for atheist and agnostics these seeds fall on deaf ears which allows Satan to steal the word of God out of your life.  

The good news is you and me, we have access to the good seed but only if Jesus Christ is the Lord of your life which leads to everlasting life in Heaven.  That is the story of Easter, that is the story of Christ.  The good seed that is sown into people's lives.