By:Pastor Joe Laughlin, Victory Church, Omaha, NE.
Luke Chapter 8 is the account of our Lord Jesus sharing the parable of the sower. Jesus tells how the different soils that a seed is planted in will produce different levels of harvest. In verse 11 Jesus explains the parable and says the seed He is talking about is the Word of God. Seed that was planted in good soil produced an abundant harvest. The good soil was the person who accepted and received the Word of God. I have read this parable many times, but it was not until this Christmas that I made the connection of the Word of God being a seed and tied this to the Christmas story.
In Luke 1:26 we read of the angel Gabriel announcing to Mary that she would conceive in her womb and bring forth a son and call his name Jesus. From verse 27 we know that Mary was a virgin, and in verse 34 Mary responds to the angel, “How can this be since I do not know a man?” That is a fair question, and the angel responds by telling Mary, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you, the Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.” Mary’s response is recorded in verse 38, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord. Let it be to me according to your word.”
The angel, Gabriel, brought to Mary the Word of the Lord. She received and accepted the Word which is a seed, and she conceived and brought forth a literal harvest, the Son of God. This is a great demonstration of faith in God. The seed of the Word came to Mary. It did not make sense to her natural mind. But because her heart was of the kind of good soil Jesus talked about in the parable of the sower, she responded by accepting and receiving God’s Word and promise, and it was done for her according to her response “Let it be to me according to your word.”
How about us today? All of us have opportunities every day to decide how we will respond to God’s Word, God’s promise, “the seed.” If we are caught up in the cares of this life and the lust for other things the Word will not produce much in our lives. But if our heart is open and receptive to God’s promises, it will produce a harvest in our lives. Even if we do not understand how God will accomplish His promise, that is not for us to figure out. Our part is to say, like Mary, “Let it be to me according to your word”, and then let God’s Word, the seed, produce an abundant harvest in our lives.
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