So many times as Christians we have an incorrect perception of who God is.  We see Him as an almighty God--and He is.  We see Him as sovereign--and He is.  He has the power to do whatever He wants.  He is a King.  We see Him in all of these ways, and we shape expectations based upon these attributes.  But oftentimes, God does not fulfill our expectations.  Either He doesn't do what we expect, or He doesn't do something when we expect.  At other times we are experiencing things that don't fit with our belief of who God is.  If we're not careful, we'll find ourselves getting angry at God and doubting Him.  There is something about this King that eludes us.

Well, Jesus came and taught a lot about God the Father and His kingdom.  In fact Jesus spoke many parables about the kingdom of God.  We can learn much from these, but there is one parable in particular that Jesus said was the most basic of all.  In Mark 4:1-9 Jesus told the people a parable about a farmer who went out and sowed seed in his field.  His disciples didn't understand its meaning, so they asked Jesus to explain its meaning.  In Mark 4:13 Jesus responds...

  "Then Jesus said to them [the 12 disciples], 'Don't you understand this parable?  How then will you understand any parable.'"

So we see that this parable is the most basic one.  We can't expect to understand any of Jesus' parables unless we first understand this one.  So let's take a look at it.  Once we do, I think we'll find out why God oftentimes doesn't act according to our expectations.  This parable and its interpretation are found in Mark 4:3-20, Luke 8:5-15, and Matthew 13:3-23.  Below is Mark's version of the parable and its interpretation.

"Listen!  A farmer went out to sow his seed.
As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up.
Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil.  It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow.
But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root.
Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain.
Still other seed fell on good soil.
It came up, grew and produced a crop, multiplying thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times."

"The farmer sows the word [of God].
Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown.
As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them.
Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy.
But since they have no root, they last only a short time.
When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away.
Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word;
but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desire for other things
come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful.
Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it,
and produce a crop--thirty, sixty or even a hundred times what was sown."

1. The first principle I see is that God usually begins His work by starting off with something small (like a seed).  Oftentimes, we are looking for God to do something big--after all, He is the most powerful Being there is.  Certainly, He would do things big!  But He usually starts with something small.  How many times in our lives have we missed God because we were looking for Him in the "big" things?  Remember, the kingdom of God is like a seed. 

2. Another principle I see is that it takes time for the seed to produce the fruit (harvest).  God is more interested in the process of reaching the goal than He is in the goal itself.  We may think that God is only interested in producing quick observable changes in our lives (like having less pride in our lives, and having more love), but this is not the case.  He is very patient.  The question is, "Are we patient?  Are we willing to wait (perhaps many, many years) to see the fruition of God's work in our lives?"  The kingdom of God matures and increases over time (just like a seed).  We must be patient!

3. Finally, I see that the responsibility for making the seed produce a harvest rests with us, and not God!  If the responsibility was God's, then all of the seed sown would automatically produce a harvest.  But the parable shows us that 3 soils out of 4 did not produce a harvest.  The soil is representative of our spiritual hearts.  The seed that was sown in all 4 soils was all good seed, but the seed was unfruitful in 3 of the soils.  Why?  It wasn't the farmer's fault and it wasn't the seed's fault.  It was the soil's fault.  And that soil is symbolic of each one of our hearts.

Are we willing to allow God (the farmer) to sow His seed deep into our hearts?  If not, we may just leave His word up on top of our hearts because we don't value it.  If we do, Satan is sure to steal it.  Maybe we say that we'll allow the word of God (seed) to come partway into our hearts, but no further.  But then trouble and persecution comes because we have chosen to allow God's word access into our lives.  We didn't expect to have to suffer for following God and submitting to His word.  We have no spiritual root (because the soil is too shallow).  Instead of allowing the trouble to help us grow, we quickly wither and die.

In the third soil, the seed grew fine.  But other things were in that soil and competed with the seed that God sowed.  Deceitfulness of wealth, worries about this life, and the desires for so many other things eventually choked the word of God and made it unfruitful. 

Lastly, the good soil stands for those who heard the word of God, accepted the word, and then through patience produced an abundant harvest. 

It is our responsibility to open our hearts so that God's word can find a place deep within.  It is also our responsibility to count the costs of obeying God and allowing His word to change our lives.  We are also responsible to weed out the things in our hearts that would compete with God's word.  We are responsible for all of this.  Yet, we can't do it without God's help.  If we will ask Him for his help, He will give it.

So, the kingdom of God is like a seed.  It starts off small, and grows over time.  But if the kingdom of God is to find residence within our hearts, then we must take the responsibility to see that the word of God grows and matures. 

The kingdom of God is not God taking his absolute sovereignty and doing whatever He wants in our lives.
Nor is the kingdom of God something we simply grab hold of and take and do with what we want.
The kingdom of God is a joint effort between God and ourselves.  It takes both of our efforts!

For a related article on how God's work in our lives is like that of a Gardener with his garden, click on the Gardening With the Lord link to take you to this article in the Kitchen.