He was talking in riddles. Again. They should be used to it by now. They weren’t. The disciples listened attentively to the words, but ended up just as confused as the people around them. It was frustrating. They wanted so badly to understand. Comprehend. Hear the words and simultaneously deduce the meaning. It hadn’t happened. As the copious parts of the parable unfolded, they’d found themselves caught up in all the information. The sower. The seeds. The ground. The choking thorns, stubborn rocks, and devouring birds. Try as they might, the disciples couldn’t straighten everything out into the life lesson they knew it must certainly be. They couldn’t see the connection. Couldn’t puzzle out what seeds and soil had to do with salvation.
Gathering around Jesus after the crowd had finally dissipated, the disciples plied Him with questions. What was with all the parables? Seriously. Couldn’t He just speak plainly, in verbiage they could readily understand? Because they really wanted to understand. They did. But somehow, they were missing it. Every. Single. Time. They didn’t want it to be like that. They didn’t want to miss a thing. Not the parable. Not the meaning. They needed to know it. Needed Jesus to speak the lesson to them in easily understood words. Because they knew the enemy of their souls was everywhere. Waiting. Lurking. Watching for the moment he could lead them astray. They also knew their only available safety lay in knowing and following the words of Jesus.
Sighing a little, Jesus began to explain the parable of the sower to His disciples in plain speech, easily understood by anyone who has ever grown a lima bean in a plastic bag in elementary school. There was one Farmer who planted the seeds. It was Him. Jesus. He planted the seeds. In every available space. Pathways. Rocky ground. Thorny patches. Loamy, rich, freshly plowed fields. No space is exempt from the sowing. The Farmer plants everywhere regardless of the likelihood of growth. Every soil gets the same opportunity. Every soil also has the same enemy. A vicious, duplicitous enemy seeking to prevent the seeds from taking root. One who seeks to steal and kill and destroy every effort made by the Farmer to grow healthy, fruitful plants. The enemy is the devil. He’s everywhere. Like a chameleon, he’s constantly changing tactics and adapting to his surroundings in an effort to appear harmless, patiently waiting for the perfect moment to destroy the seeds, the soil, the plants before they can grow up and take root in Christ. (Mark 4:1-20; John 10:10)
It wasn’t a new concept. Since nearly the dawn of time, in one way or another, to one person or another, God has been saying the same thing. The enemy of your soul is out to get you. He places sin within reach, makes it look enticing, acts like your friend, tries to be your confidant. He sets traps to ensnare you, does tricks to distract you. You have to be aware, on guard, pay attention, so you don’t fall for his lies. So you don’t give him the opportunity to overtake your soul. It was a conversation God had with Cain way back in Genesis.
Firstborn son of the very first humans God placed on the earth, Cain was a farmer. Literally. He worked the ground. Sowed the seeds. Tended the plants until they yielded beautiful vegetables. It was an arduous process. A destructive enemy could come along at any time. Blight. Bugs. Blossom end rot. Any given morning, Cain could go out to his garden and find his hard work had been in vain, the enemy had found a way in. But, if he was meticulous in his gardening, he could produce the most fantastic vegetables. Vegetables he believed would surely be worthy of God’s blessing. Except they weren’t. For reasons which, centuries later, scholars will still argue over, God did not find Cain’s offering acceptable. Perhaps it was the state of his heart when he offered. Maybe he lacked faith. Maybe he already hated his brother. Maybe the seeds of bitterness had already taken root and grown inside Cain’s heart. Whatever the case, God refused the offering. But He didn’t stop talking to Cain.
God didn’t leave Cain sitting beside his pile of vegetables, wondering what had happened and how it could be rectified. He told him. Warned him. He needed to overhaul his heart, not just his sacrifice. Sin was crouching at the door. The enemy of his soul was lying in wait for the perfect moment to strike. It was sitting there, salivating in excitement over the exact minute it could overtake Cain’s heart. But it didn’t have to be that way. Cain could choose. He could decide not to let it have him. Choose not to be a slave to the ugly desires of his own heart. The choice was his. He could have chosen any one of a dozen options. He chose the worst one. In a towering rage, Cain lured his brother out into the field and killed him, irrevocably altering his own life. (Genesis 4:1-16)
One wonders if Simon Peter wouldn’t have chosen a similar path–not the murder part, the sin part–had it not been for Jesus. In a strange conversation that must surely have caught Peter off guard, Jesus warns him that Satan is after him. The evil one himself has approached God, asking for him by name. Begged to ransack his soul. Break him. Tear him apart. Dismantle his faith. He’s carefully setting up a set of circumstances in which Peter will be forced to choose between his faith and his fear. Faced with the decision to admit or deny being acquainted with Jesus, Peter will choose to deny it. It could be the moment of failure for Peter. It could be that time when Peter walks away to the detriment of his soul. It’s not. Because Jesus prayed for him. For Peter. Interceded to His Father. Pleaded with God to strengthen Peter so that when things went sideways, when he strayed off course, when he was faced with trials and tribulations, he would always choose to return to his first love. And Peter did. (Luke 22:31-34)
In a timeless warning of the evils abounding around us, Jesus cautioned first his disciples, then the crowds gathered around Him, to be wary of false teachers and teachings. The leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees. The motives of the scribes and Pharisees. Don’t fall for every teaching that comes across your path. Know the commands of God. Remember Jesus’ teachings. Follow them. Don’t turn away after things that simply sound good, people who seem more persuasive, or options that cater to your own heart’s desires. Don’t be carried away by everyone else’s opinion of Jesus following. Know Jesus yourself. Know His teachings. Follow them. Don’t be confused by the evil influences around you, the snares set to draw your heart away from truly following Jesus. Be careful. Be wary. Because your enemies are everywhere. (Matthew 16:1-12; 23:1-36; I Peter 5:8)
We require the same admonitions. Perhaps even more than the people of Jesus day. We need to remember that sin is crouching at our door, waiting for the exact moment to take advantage of our weakness, our fear, our pain. We need to know that the evil one is always seeking to have us, to sift us, to jostle our souls and jangle our resolve. We need to realize that evil influences surround us. They are everywhere. In places we expect and places we don’t. We need to know ourselves. Know that the normal worries and cares of life, the human desire for more, the worldly pressure to get and have and be are all tools of distraction and distortion the enemy uses to trap our souls. And we need to pray the words of the Psalmist when he asked God to lead him in the path of righteousness and put the way of the Lord straight before him, because of his enemies. (Psalm 5:8; 27:11)
In Psalm 23:5, there is a beautiful word picture of this exact thing. You know the words well. “You prepare a meal for me in the presence of my enemies…” Because the enemies of your soul are always going to be there. They aren’t leaving. There are no scheduled vacations, no sick days, no business trips. You’ll never have privacy from them. There’s not going to be one day the devil takes a break. But. God doesn’t take breaks either. He never sleeps. Never takes His eyes off His children. And He’s always busy. Busy preparing a beautiful spread of strengthening, encouraging hope and help right where you are. Right in the middle of your enemies. (Psalm 23)
So pray the words. Pray for direction, protection, deliverance. Sit at the table. Feed your soul on His word. Learn God’s attributes, His character, His commands. Hear His promises. Trust His heart. When the way is foggy or rocky or otherwise treacherous and you are tempted to take a left turn on an easier trail, don’t. Stay the course. Have faith in God. He has prepared your pathway. He has put it straight before you. He will provide the courage and strength necessary to walk it. He will be with you. In good times. In bad times. Every time. God will walk it with you. And you’ll need to rely on Him. Because of your enemies. (Psalm 16:8; 25:1-5; 119:105; Ephesians 6:10-18; Proverbs 3:5-6; Matthew 17:20-21; Leviticus 26:12; Joshua 1;9; James 4:7; Romans 12:2)