For the Birds

In Mark 4, Jesus tells the story of a farmer who is planting seed. He describes where the farmer spreads the seed, the kind of ground the seed falls on and what kind of crop that seed produces.

In one part of the story, Jesus says that some of the seed falls on a pathway, where it was immediately eaten by birds. The seed didn't even have a chance to grow.

Later He explains that the seed represents God's Word, and that the seed that fell on the pathway is like when the Word of God is spoken but the people who are listening never connect to what is being taught.

It's as though birds came in and took the seed of the Word before it ever got into the ears of those that were listening.

Isn't it true that we can be sitting, listening to someone speak the Word, and yet never hear any of it? Today, it is so easy to be distracted. We have so many voices vying for our attention, yet the Bible tells us to "Pay Attention" to God's Word.

It makes a difference whether or not we listen to God's Word. If we allow ourselves to get distracted, we may miss what God has for us. In the 10 seconds it took for you to drift off into another thought, you may have missed the very Word you needed to hear.

"God will say it again if he really wants me to hear it!" someone might say. That may be true, but will you be listening the next time?

In Matthew 23:37, Jesus talks about how He wanted to gather Jerusalem together and protect them under His arms, but they refused. even though he desired to protect them time and time again, they missed every chance.

We may not just out-right refuse God, but unless we cultivate an attitude of paying attention we could certainly miss his Word by being distracted, too busy, or even bored with the messenger.

Our enemy DOES NOT want us to hear God's Word because He knows how powerful it is if we can get it in our hearts.

But if we will "shoe" the birds away from the seed, then we can receive it, cultivate it in our hearts and enjoy the harvest of abundance that God's Word promises for those who hear and obey.