Daily Devotion 09/24/18
Matthew 13:3-8 Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.
If you were the ruler of a nation, how would you spread your kingdom? I think our answer would be the same as the rest of the world’s answer: we’d conquer. You’d have to go in and conquer the nation and force them to be part of your people. That would make sense because that’s how the world works. But that’s not how God works. God spreads his kingdom not by an outside force working in, but from the inside out. In other words, God doesn’t force people to be part of his kingdom. Instead, he works his kingdom in their hearts first. How does he do that? By the spreading of gospel seeds. As that seed of Jesus is spread to people’s heart, God goes to work so that the seed gets planted and takes root. That seed brings forth faith in Jesus as their Savior, and they are part of God’s kingdom. This is what has happened to you and me. Someone scattered the seed on your heart and God went to work. And that seed slowly but surely took root, faith was grown, and trust in Jesus as your Savior developed. Through that seed of the gospel, you were brought into the Kingdom of God, and it is through that seed that our faith continues to be fertilized and grow. Today, scatter that seed on your heart over and over again.
Father in heaven, thank you for the people who sow the seed of the gospel onto my heart every day. Thank you for planting that seed and making it grow into faith. Through my faith in Jesus, you have given me forgiveness, life, and salvation. Scatter that seed on my heart every day of my life. Amen.