The Parable of the Soil

Maybe it's the creative writer in me that causes me to look at some of the Bible stories from a different perspective. The obvious one is Luke 15. Instead of the Parable of the Lost Son, I want to focus on the forgiving Father. That's the kind of Heavenly Father I picture, and the kind of earthly father I desire to be. In John 3, I want to focus on Nicodemus. If I had an evening with Jesus, what kinds of things we would talk about. I have so many questions and doubts that I want to discuss. When I read John 4 I identify with woman. If Jesus encountered me at a Starbucks (our version of the well), how would he approach my sins. It's both scary and comforting to acknowledge, "he knows everything I've ever done."

I have been spending a lot of time recently reflecting on the issue of Mosaics, those born between 1984-2001. It's no secret that they are turning their backs on traditional Christianity. Even young people who have grown up in the church are becoming exiles and nomads when they become young adults. When I reflected on Luke 8:4-8 in that light, it became the parable of the soil. As an older adult Christian I like to think I am still maturing, but I also need to be providing fertile ground for young Christians to become rooted in their faith and to bear fruit as well.

I would explain the parable in this way.

The hard ground of the path would be faith communities that are driven by tradition. They reject change and will not tolerate those who have questions or doubts. There is no room for those whose values and lifestyles are different than theirs.

The rocky ground would be faith communities that are shallow. On the surface they appear happy and successful, but their is no depth. There is little spiritual growth.

The thorny ground represents faith communities that are program driven. There are lots of things going on, but few of those activites focus on growing in a relationship with Jesus. All the social activities choke-off the growth.

The good soil is a fertile faith community. People are not only growing in their personal relationship with Jesus, but they have a desire to pass on the heritage of faith to all people across generational lines. They confront issues and address them.

The questions becomes: What kind of soil are you personally? What are you doing to insure that your faith is maturing? In what ways are you cultivating faith among those who are still seeds, searching for a place to put down spiritual roots?

It's not an easy task. Those under the age of thirty have many questions and doubts. They might have a lifestyle that is foreign to us over the age of fifty. They might even approach things with different values. That aside: They are still God's Children. They are very precious to him. We just need to love them as Jesus would.