One of my greatest joys is exchanging what I call heavy revies with my friends. When I come across something in my daily reading of the Bible that seems to jump off the page I call it a heavy revelation or in short a heavy revy. I learned this from the Dale Crall, the man who invested three years in discipling me. Our greatest joy would be sharing from our journals what God had been showing us throughout the week in our daily devotions. A few weeks ago I shared with a good friend some insights from the gospel of Mark, chapter four. Here are the insights he sent back to me with some wonderful applications to fatherhood. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did.

Chris:

You had told me to meditate on Mark 4 and I think the Lord showed me a few things. I looked only at the first parable this morning, the parable of the sower. This parable is significant because after Jesus told it, his disciples didn’t understand the application, and he admonished them saying that if they couldn’t figure this one out they wouldn’t be able to understand any of them. It is repeated almost identically in Matthew and Luke. Here are a few of the insights the Lord spoke to me.

1. “The sower soweth the Word” (Mark 4:14). The sower is anyone sharing God’s word. I had always thought of this parable as the Lord doing the sowing. But in Jesus’ explanation he doesn’t say anything about who the sower is. A sower is actually anyone expecting to reap the rewards of his labor, including fathers expecting well-behaved children, farmers planting a crop, or an investor in the stock market. In my case I am a husband and father with a responsibility to “sow” the word into their hearts.

2. It also dawned on me that Jesus probably wasn’t describing someone wandering aimlessly among towns and country roads hoping to see tall corn growing in the boulevards, medians and shoulders. This is the way I always pictured this parable because the seed fell by the “way” and on rocky ground and among weeds. However, anyone who is a sower must realize that the best way to reap a return on your labor is to sow the great majority of the seed on soil that is prepared for it and ready to bear fruit. It would make no sense to sow in areas with lots of rocks and weeds and expect any kind of return. It also doesn’t make much sense to sow in someone else’s fields since the fruit would have to be split with the owner of the field. Since the sower would most likely want a good return on his labor, and not be required to share it with another, the condition of the soil must be the responsibility of the sower!

3. So, a sower prepares his own field and sows the word of God. As he sows, he passes by the edge of the field that isn’t prepared as thoroughly and the fowl of the air can see it laying on top and swoop down to snatch it up before it can be watered and germinate. The sower then passes an area with a lot of rocks, where he hasn’t been able to plough very deep, and the seed there does OK until the sun comes out and dries out the rocky soil, and the new plant shrivels from lack of nutrients. Further on down the field is an area full of weeds, not very high yet, but in time will come to choke the seed out. Finally, the rest of the field consisting of good soil is planted and the sower rests to await his return. But wait. In order to ensure the seed will germinate, and after germinating thrive, and after thriving for a season will bear fruit, a sower can’t just sit and expect the fruit to jump into the pantry! That’s where my responsibility comes in. Sowing alone isn’t good enough to reap fruit. Ask any of my children and they will tell you that I love a flourishing garden and a beautiful yard. Every year I love to plan the varieties and anticipate the beauty of exotic flowers and the taste of fresh home grown vegetables. I’ll even prepare the soil and plant the seeds! But when it comes to the follow-up care that must be provided, I am no where to be seen. Reaping the fruit requires more work and constant dedication than just preparing the soil and planting the seeds. This parable teaches us three things we can do as fathers to ensure we will reap the fruit of children mighty in spirit.

• WATCH – “Some fell by the way side and the fowls of the air came and devoured it up.” The first soil described in the parable was by the way side. It is soil that either wasn’t prepared or was poorly prepared. The seed just lay on top exposed to the eyes of the fowls in the air. Jesus told us the fowls of the air were Satan who took away the seed even before it had a chance to sink in. This reminds me of the old scarecrows that people used to put up in their vegetable garden to scare away the birds so they wouldn’t eat the freshly sown seeds. I think it is vital that I as a father watch over my field and don’t let the fowl of the air believe it is safe to plunder my field. The thing about a scarecrow is it doesn’t really do anything. It is only a representative of the thing that a crow fears—man. With the devil, he is not scared of us, but he is afraid of the Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore I must have Christ living in me so much that when Satan looks at me he sees Jesus and not Tim the failure. Like the scarecrows, if Satan finally figured out that I am just that, a pile of spiritual straw and old overalls—a hypocrite—then he will descend without hesitation and roost on my arms and steal my seed and rob me of my fruit. My first responsibility is to watch over my field and protect it from the devourer. This is where we need to realize that “we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” Accordingly, we need to stand against the enemy by speaking the truth, being in right standing before the Almighty God, and standing on the foundation of the good news of peace and rest Christ prepared for us. But above all, protecting our families with the shield of faith, which is unshakable conviction in Christ’s finished work that will quench every fiery dart of the enemy; and wield the sword of the spirit which is the word of God. So here we are using the sword of the word to drive away the enemy to protect the seed of the word in the ground.

• WATER – “And some fell on stony ground, where it had not much earth; and immediately it sprang up because it had not much earth. But when the sun was up it was scorched, and because it had not root it withered away.” In this case, the ground is rocky or stony. I lived for a time in northern Minnesota in the Superior National Forest area where the ground was sandy to gravelly. Our property was adjacent to a gravel pit where sand and gravel occurred naturally without much dirt or soil mixed in. The topsoil was shallow and stony. Not much would grow well in this stuff. It doesn’t hold moisture well and dries out quickly. I tried planting a garden in this stuff more than once where I thought the topsoil was deepest, but even then the only things that did really well, were tubers—root crops like carrots, potatoes, parsnips and rutabagas. My wife didn’t know what to do with a lot of parsnips or rutabagas. Anyway, this soil type reminded me of the tendency to water a garden for an hour once a day. Watering a lawn or garden for an hour once a day will not saturate the soil to the depth that the roots need to be. The roots will be pulled to the depth they can consistently get nourishment from, and if the depth of the water is only a few inches, then the roots will only be a few inches, and the next big wind, scorching sun or other natural disaster, will spell ruin. However, watering for 3 or 4 hours every other day would provide a deep watering that will last for several days of no watering. The roots will go down to the level of the moisture and even if there is a short drought going on above the surface, the plants can thrive on the moisture still there in the deep place.

What is the main goal here? Jesus said that, “because it had no root, it withered away.” It withered away because it had no root; it wasn’t in soil that could promote good root growth. The goal isn’t to get rid of rocks or to protect it from the sun—it is to promote good root growth. You do this primarily by watering deeply and thoroughly. That reminded me of Ephesians 5:26 where we husbands are compared to Jesus who washes it (the Church) with the water of the word. This might be mixing metaphors a bit, but here the water is the word that is poured out onto the ground where the seed of the word was sown and together they can bring forth fruit.

• WEED – “And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the word, and the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful.” The final admonition to us fathers is to make sure that we keep the weeds from choking out and consuming so many resources that fruit just can’t develop on the vine. Weeds are not something that you minimize. They must be eradicated because leaving even a small amount will eventually cause as much damage as if you did nothing. Here is a guide to the weeds:

Cares of this world: The word “cares” means the divided attentions or distractions of this present world. This “weed” implies a double mindedness that James says causes us to desire the friendship of the world, but thereby making us enemies of God. We cannot serve two masters. Fathers must be especially on guard to avoid the cares of the world. This does not mean we don’t participate in the economy or find some remote mountain and avoid all commerce and contact with the world. It means we do no let ourselves get distracted from our responsibilities by the allure of worldly pursuits. In my business I am often tempted to pursue a relationship with a potential customer by attending some cultural or sporting event. It is the thing to do (I am told) to ensure that your relationship with that individual is strong enough to get you the business even if your competitor is less expensive or better known. But I know that making a compromise in one of these areas would distract me and cause a new line to be drawn in m mind, one that overlaps further into the “world”. Standing strong on convictions is a good way to avoid the distractions of the world.

Deceitfulness of riches: This weed has so many forms it is hard to identify and remove. Again, fathers can do the most damage by allowing this weed in their own life. Removing it from our children’s lives is impossible if we haven’t removed it from ours. For some fathers it might be the choice of car they drive or simply depending on material things for a sense of well-being. What we invest our funds in will communicate our priorities and speak louder than our words. If we want our kids to learn to tithe, we must tithe. Do we want our married kids to build a house debt free when we have twenty years left on our thirty year mortgage? Weeds thrive even when there is no rain or sun, so we must maintain our walk with the Lord or the lack of water from the word in our own lives will destroy the fruit and cause the weeds to prosper. The answer is to dedicate everything we own to God and see ourselves as stewards of everything he has given us—including our kids. “It is required of stewards that a man be found faithful.” (I Corinthians 4:2). In order to be a good steward God wants us to be faithful, or dependable in fulfilling our responsibilities, and generous in our giving to God and those in need. As a father, I need to acknowledge and demonstrate true faith (James 2:14-17) in giving to the basic needs of others.

Lusts of other things: This is the weed of “longing for things that are forbidden”. We must guard our thoughts against the longing for things that will ultimately destroy us. We can’t see it right now, but that new boat you saw in the showroom will destroy our testimony if God has specifically told us not to buy that boat, and we do it anyway. James described this destruction this way: “Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.” The best way to build an immunity to lusting after forbidden things is to develop a spirit of gratefulness and contentment. I have been tempted many times by the huge amount of equity we have in our home. We could sell it and build a bigger home, or use the equity for some other major purchase. But I am reminded of the need for contentment, and not to set my heart on any increase in riches.

With all of the fancy chemicals and neat gizmos out there for weeding, the only one that is really effective is to simply dig down and remove the weed by its roots. Its dirty, slow, and hard work if the garden is any size. It’s also a lot easier if you can identify them earlier. For us Dads, we need to do it ourselves in our own lives by being obedient to the light God has provided, and spending the time necessary understanding our kids’ hearts. That’s where the weeds will show up first. If we can allow them time and safety to discuss what’s on their minds and in their hearts, we will see the weeds and can then gently remove them in a safe way.

4. Watch, water and weed. That makes it simple, though a lot of work, and memorable. Thanks for the encouragement to seek the Lord in this passage. I’m learning a lot.

Posted by Chris Hogan on Tuesday, April 25, 2006 at 12:09 PM