The sower soweth the Word. Mark 4:14
Next time you are in a book store, check out the size of the ‘Religion’ section. The variety of stuff there is amazing, with much of it fluff and nonsense, and a growing amount of it related to cults and false religions. But even among the so-called Christian material, you will find material that has little or no value. Many of the books that claim to be Bible study guides are filled with little more than ideas and programs and plans for guiding and directing your life or some aspect of it. Less and less space is being made available for Bibles themselves, and even that is devoted to some of the newer translations that are geared more to please the eye than to abide by inspiration. Christendom seems to be learning how to get by without the Bible. We need to learn how to get by with little but the Bible.
The sower in the parable that Jesus is explaining to His disciples in our text is not sowing anything but the Word, just as a farmer sows his grain fields with nothing but grain. After all, the farmer wants a crop; he wants to be able to reap a valuable return. Planting jelly beans or ice cream cones will never result in any crops, But that’s all people are planting if they ignore the Word of God and plant the philosophies and ideas of men, no matter how brilliant the men. Just as a history book will never prepare a student for a Java programmer certification, any book other than the Bible is unable to prepare sinners for God’s salvation or prepare Saints for worship and service for our Lord.
There is a reason why our Assemblies hold regular Bible readings. The consistent, regular study of the Scriptures as an Assembly builds up our individual and collective knowledge of the Word of God, and allows us to grow spiritually. There is a reason why young Christians are encouraged to develop daily habits of studying and meditating on the Word of God. Only in this way can young Christians develop into the spiritual maturity that will enable them to live victorious Christian lives in a world that is striving to destroy their testimonies. There is a reason why Christian families hold a daily time of reading and prayer together, so that the children will know the Word of God and sow in their hearts the truths of the Gospel and their responsibilities toward God.
Only the Word of God is able to feed and sustain us, to build us up in our most holy faith. When it comes to sowing, it has no substitute. -Jim MacIntosh