“But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.” Luke 8:15 (NIV) (emphasis added)

 

When someone asked Jesus why He spoke in parables, He said “Because the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of Heaven have been given to you but not to them.” (Matthew 13:11)  What an interesting thought!  Jesus told stories that some people would only hear on the surface level, but to others, the secrets of the kingdom of Heaven would be revealed!  I don’t know about you, but I want to be one of those people that learn the secrets to God’s kingdom and how I can apply them to my life and in my role as a mom, don’t you? 

Wouldn’t it be amazing if we had a blueprint to help us know how to equip our kids to know, love, and follow the Lord?  I believe God’s Word gives us that blueprint when we really seek to understand it and  apply it to our lives.  

If that resonates with you, stick around because we are going to be diving into what I think is one of Jesus’ greatest parables, The Parable of the Sower.   This parable reveals secrets for teaching our kids to know and follow Jesus.

I have always been fascinated by The Parable of the Sower.  Jesus shares the story of a farmer scattering his seeds in hopes that they will grow into fruitful crops.  Unfortunately, many of the seeds do not become fruitful crops or even crops at all for a variety of reasons.  Jesus uses these ‘crop failures’ to teach us spiritual lessons about what to avoid and what to prioritize when teaching others to follow Jesus.  Then he shares about the seed that fell on the good soil and how it produced a crop 100 times what was sown.  How do we cultivate that kind of crop in our children?  I believe God shares many secrets to family discipleship within this parable!   The beautiful thing about God’s Word is that it is just as applicable today as it was thousands of years ago.  

We are going to read and study the parable very closely over the next several months, looking carefully at what caused some of the seeds to remain dormant and what caused the good seed to grow and flourish so well.  We will dive deeper into each type of ‘crop failure,’ so we won’t make the same mistakes with our children.  We will also learn how to best plant God’s Word in our children’s lives so that we prepare good soil for them.  We all want our children to flourish in their relationship with the Lord and for them to produce much fruit for God’s Kingdom.  God wants that more than we do, and His secrets await us in The Parable of the Sower…