City Life Starter

Written by Aisha Darwesh

The Word

Soon afterward he went on through cities and villages, proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with him, and also some women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, and Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod’s household manager, and Susanna, and many others, who provided for them out of their means. And when a great crowd was gathering and people from town after town came to him, he said in a parable, “A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell along the path and was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the air devoured it. And some fell on the rock, and as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it. And some fell into good soil and grew and yielded a hundredfold.” As he said these things, he called out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” 

–Luke 8:1-8 ESV

The ones along the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. 

–Luke 8:12 ESV

Aisha’s Analysis

In today’s verses, I would like to hone in on Jesus’ parable of the sower–particularly the seed that fell along the path and was trampled underfoot (v. 5). 

In this scenario, the seed was sown along a path. A path is something that is formed over time, consistently traveled over and over again. I would describe “path people” as the type of person who is resistant to believing God’s Word because he cannot conceive a new idea. This person has had a certain mindset drilled into him, and he can’t really believe things could be different. 

For the person whose heart is hardened by his experiences, the Word falls on deaf ears. “Path people” may hear God’s Word, but then immediately discount it. Before the seed has a chance to seep in it’s quickly snatched away by Satan. 

Let’s contrast this with the “good soil” from which the seed grew and yielded a harvest. “Good soil people” may have been through hard experiences, but they choose to step off the beaten path by believing God’s Word. They are willing to be open and receptive to God’s Word and once received, they protect it in their hearts. They hold on to the truth of God’s Word and allow Him to direct a new path. 

What differentiates the “path people” and the “good soil people?” I would say the main difference is pride. It is important to recognize that doubt is a form of pride. Pride takes form in all sorts of shapes and sizes, but at its root, pride is simply choosing to go any other way than God’s way. Pride is when you believe that you know better between right and wrong than God. 

When we doubt the Word of God, we are essentially saying that we cannot believe God because we believe another way to be true. It sets us at odds with God. One of the things the scripture teaches us about pride is that God resists the proud (1 Peter 1:5). 

In this scenario with the seed falling on the path, we see that the seed is immediately taken away by Satan. Pride makes it easy for the devil to snatch the Word away from us. Doubt and pride keep our hearts in a hardened, resistant state. As long as we continue in doubt and pride, then we’ll never get the Word in, for the devil will keep on snatching it away. 

Doubt is one of the most subtle tools the devil uses to make us resistant to God.

Application

In what ways have your experiences hardened you from believing what God says? God’s Word can transcend our experience but only if we are willing to mix it with faith in the soil of our hearts. Faith activates the Word of God and allows it to take root and create a harvest of righteousness and peace in our lives. 

Are you willing to invite the Lord into the hardened paths of your experience, so that He might transform your heart into His own garden of grace? If so, I invite you to read a passage of God’s Word today as though you actually believed it. 

Prayer

Father God, forgive me for all the times I doubted You when I could have believed. I don’t want doubt to drive a wedge between us and prevent me from experiencing Your best. I humble myself before You and receive the truth of Your Word. Lord, open my eyes to see and my ears to hear with faith. In Jesus’ name, amen.