TO ALL CHRISTIANS

We know that Jesus teaches in parables. Here is one of the parables Jesus taught His disciples.

Book of Mark 4:3-8

3 “Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. 

4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 

5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 

6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 

7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. 

8 Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, some multiplying thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times.” 

9 Then Jesus said,“Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”

This teaching of Jesus is incomprehensible to people whose  Kingdom of Heaven is not revealed to. To people who diligently search God in his heart will easily understands the parables. Maraming nagpapahayag ng salita ng Dios bilang pagtupad sa pinaguutos ni Jesus in Mark 16:15“Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. 16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.

Marami ding nakikinig, nagbabasa ngunit’ hindi lahat ng ito ay tumitimo sa kanilang puso at isipan,  That is the summary of the Parables.

The man who scatters the seed is the one who shares(preacher, evangelist, pastor, teacher of the words) the words of God.

1)Seeds that fell along their path were eaten by the birds-itong mga taong ito nakarinig ng salita, pero binabalewala. Parang  pumasok sa isang tenga , lumabas sa kabila. Walang dating  ang Salita ng Dios sa kanila , at ganyan ang marami specially those sa mga taong may ibang paniniwala. The reason, it’s either not their priority or they do not believe in the words of God. Kaya yung mga kasama sa distro na hindi binabasa ang mga sinishare ko, God knows them and I know them, too. Naaawa lang ako sa kanila. Di ba sabi ni Jesus, 9 Then Jesus said,“Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”

2). Seeds that fell on the rock-siyempre mabato at mababaw ang mga rocky soil. It does penetrate though, but no deep penetration. So dahil nasa batuhan at nasa bilad ng init ng araw madali itong namamatay. Some people joyfully received the words of God, but when trials in life come to them, nawalan sila ng tiwala sa Salita ng Dios or which is God Himself, and they went back to their old self. Maraming ganito sa mga  born again Christians, They go to church, nakinig , nagbasa, but the words  did not penetrate in them, dahil hindi malalim ang kanilang intimacy kay God nung dumating ang problema, hindi nakayanan, nawala ang tiwala sa Dios at bumalik siya sa dati.  

In Hebrewws 4:12 ¹² For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. 

The words did not penetrate in them. Kung nagpatuloy lamang siya, he will know the meaning of the preceding verse.

3).Other seeds fell among thorns. You know if we are among thorns- which means worldly cares such as : riches, business, family, careers, fame, etc. There are also many Christians na ganito. They go to church, yet one foot is still on earth. So he’s not totally surrendered to the Words of God because he cannot avoid the pleasures of richness, success in career, family, fame, etc. Hindi ba may isang mayamang lumapit kay Jesus at nagtanong kung paano siya makakapunta sa Heaven. Jesus said na, ipamigay ang kanyang kayamanan sa mga mahihirap at sumunod sa Kanya. Living a true Christian life is not at all pleasurable, but you can feel the joy of being a servant to Him, of being close to God.

4)Seeds fell on good soil, of course, namumunga. It produce crops at dumarami if properly taken care of such as continuous watering, fertilizers, etc. These are the true Christians whose words of God has penetrated to their very soul (windows of sin ang soul natin). If words of God is penetrated in our soul. We cannot be moved by  any aweful situations which would cause us to fall away from God.

Sometimes being a true Christian is tantamount to bear the sufferings just like what happened to Paul and Peter.  Hindi ba’t maraming dinanas na pagdurusa si Paul while serving the Lord and he even died in an aweful manner-he was beheaded under the reign of Nero. 

Although there are a lot of Christians who believe that God does not allow His children to suffer, however this is opposite of what Jesus said. 

In Matthew 16: 24-26 

24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 

25 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. 

26 What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?

A true Christian looks forward for a  reward from the Kingdom of God, which is not of this world. You may suffer on earth, but you will feel the joy of it because you know that God is with you and you will observe with your eyes the sufferings of the wicked because you choose to follow Him. ARE YOU READY FOR THIS?