Tag: Faithful

Easy Pickings

~ Sowmya Gali

Luke 8: 5

“The sower went out to sow his seed; and as he sowed, some fell beside the road, and it was trampled under foot and the birds of the air ate it up.

Jesus, in this parable sets off narrating about a farmer or sower who goes out into the field to sow some seeds. As he picks a few seeds from the bag, some slipped and fell on the side of the path. The farmer didn’t stop to pick them up or sow them in. Instead, he walks on. These seeds are now exposed to the elements: exposed to blazing sun, incessant rain, birds, rodents, insects, etc.  With no firm ground to take root, they tend to die off.

The disciples were perplexed when they heard this Parable. Jesus, knowing their thoughts, begins to explain to them. He compares the seeds that fell on the side of the road, the ones which neither had the right conditions to begin germination nor a stronghold to latch onto, to people who hear the Word of God but become easy pickings to the evil one due to their loose grasp on the Word. “Those beside the road are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their heart, so that they will not believe and be saved. Luke 8: 12

Matthew’s account explains even further what Jesus gave in His explanation. Jesus here elaborates that when such people hear the Word of God, unable to understand it, they become easy prey to the devises of the devil. “When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is the one on whom seed was sown beside the road. Matthew 13: 19 They are the ones whose hearts are easily distracted. Any distraction would lead them away from the truth, which is the devil’s agenda in the first place. An underlying fact also remains here: they are the people who don’t take time to dwell a little longer and try to understand the Word. They are looking for easy answers and quick solutions. Wherever they find a quick remedy for their malady, they will pursue that.

Mark’s account gives us a slightly interesting perspective. We can actually visualize this narrative: a person hears the Word of God; he is walking along and the devil is lurking in the corner to distract so that Word doesn’t take root. Thereby, the devil achieved his plan of keeping people away from the truth by showing a shiny object. “These are the ones who are beside the road where the word is sown; and when they hear; immediately Satan comes and takes away the word which has been sown in them.” Mark 4: 15

Whatever the narrative is, the truth remains the same. How many in the world have heard the Gospel but due to lack of resources or someone to explain to them, have reverted to their old ways! And still there are many who heard the Word, but neither took time to stay and ponder a while nor attempted to dig deeper. On the contrary, they chose to stick to easier paths or solutions or more familiar circumstances. Finally, there are those who are easily distracted by a shiny object. Instead of staying the course, they check out quite easily. In these current times of news at our finger tips, in small sound bites, or headlines, we expect the Word of God also to be delivered in brief headlines, fast and precise, GIFs and other media. We just take what we want and toss the rest. Beloved, the Word of God isn’t like that. It is a spring of Living water that never dries out. The longer we choose to stay and dig deeper, the better our satisfaction will be. Nothing will distract us. Nothing will snatch away. Nothing will sway us. It is up to us how and when we allow the Word of God to take root in us.

Look Up

~ Sowmya Gali

Genesis 15: 5-6

And He took him outside and said, “Now look toward the heavens, and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” And he said to him, “So shall your descendants be.”

Then he believed in the Lord; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness.

When God called Abram out of the land of Chaldeans, He only promised that He will bless Abram and prosper him. The only condition was that he leave everything behind and follow God to the land the Lord God was going to show him. Abram obeyed the call, left behind everything. His father and nephew were the only ones who went along with him to the regions unknown. Soon after, Abram’s father died. But his nephew tagged along.

When strife arose between Lot’s herdsmen and Abram’s herdsmen, Lot and Abram decided to go separate ways. Lot chose the lush green valley of Jordan and settled near Sodom and Gomorrah, while Abram moved his tents to Hebron. It was in Hebron that God’s Word came to Abram in a vision. Abram was concerned that he still has no offspring. His nephew isn’t with him anymore. The only other male heir that Abram considered was his servant Eliezer.

That is when God took Abram outside and asked him to look up at the night sky. He asked him to count the stars if he was able to. And God promised that his descendants will be as numerous as the stars in the heavens. According to Lawrence O. Richards, today through the use of giant telescopes and radio telescopes that ‘see’ radio waves, we know that our Sun lies in a great cluster of stars, called a galaxy. Astronomers estimate that there are 100 billion stars in our galaxy and that there may be 100 billion galaxies in the universe (Richards, 1989). Astronomers have also suggested that our universe is expanding at a great rate.

God entered into a covenant relationship with Abram that night. Animals and birds were sacrificed. God and Abram entered into a blood covenant, first of its kind. Abram believed in the Lord. Isn’t it surprising that Abram trusted God more than anything or anyone at this point! He neither had a friend nor a relative to seek advice from, except for God Almighty. What God said, Abram had to take up at His Word. There was no turning back.

As we gaze at the night sky, we must realize that there is no East, West, North or South once we step outside of our planet. There is no up or down. The sense of direction is only relative to our planet. As numerous as the stars in the heavens, so many will Abram’s descendants be. Abram sure must’ve been overwhelmed by the prospect of having so many descendants. He just believed in the Lord and God reckoned it to him as righteousness. Abram recognized that what God was saying to him and showing him was absolute.

What are we believing today? Rather, who are we believing today? Is our worldview shaped by what we see around us? Or do we have a Biblical worldview? If we had the vision that Abram had about who God is, what His plans are for us, then we would be quick to believe in the Lord and take Him at His Word. Today God is asking us to ‘look up’ to the heavens. With God alone lies our redemption. With God alone lies our hope. With God alone lies our future.

Psalm 19: 1-2

The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night the display knowledge.

Romans 1: 19-20

What may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities – his eternal power and divine nature – have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.

Since there is so much of evidence all around us both visible and invisible, how can we not believe in God and in His Eternal Word. There is no other way around it. With man’s limited knowledge, there is only so little we could grasp the awesome power and divinity of God. Let us like Abram take God at His word.

Reference: Richards, O. Lawrence. “It couldn’t just happen – knowing the truth about God’s awesome creation” Harper Collins Christian Publishing, Nashville, TN 1989.