Scripture Reading: Matthew 13:24-30; 36-43
The sower is Christ Himself. He always sows good seed in His field. When he was living here He went up and down the country, dropping the words of life wherever He found a bit of heart-soil that would receive them. It is wonderful to think of the blessings which have come to the world through the words of Christ. They have changed millions of lives from sinfulness to holiness. They have comforted sorrow. They have guided lives through the world’s perplexed paths. They have been like lamps for the feet of countless hosts.
In this parable, however, Christians themselves are the seeds. “The good see, these are the sons of the kingdom.” Everyone who has received into his heart the grace of God becomes himself a living seed. Wherever a good seed grows, it springs up into a plant or a tree. Every good life has its unconscious influence, diffusing blessings, making all the life about it sweeter. Then it yields fruit. Paul talks about the fruit of the Spirit in the lives of those who receive the Spirit — love, joy, peace, long-suffering. There are also fruits in the activities of the Christian life, in the words one speaks, in the things one does, in the touches of life upon life.
We here come upon the truth of an Evil One who is in the world, an enemy, of Christ, marring or destroying Christ’s work. The Bible does not tell us about the origin of evil, but it everywhere takes for granted that there is a kingdom of evil, at the head of which is the great enemy of God and man. Evil is not dropped accidentally into lives or homes or communities. The bad work is done designedly. “While men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares also among the wheat, and went his way.”
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