Jesus often used parables to teach
the truth about the Gospel. In Mark 4,
we have several parables about seeds that
help us understand how the message of
the Gospel works. 

The first parable is of the seed and
the soil.  A sower sows seed that lands
on various types of ground with varying
results.  Some seed withers, some is stolen,
some sprouts but never brings forth fruit,
and some grows into a healthy plant that
bears much fruit.  

The next parable deals with the
mystery of the seed’s growth.   We may
plough a field and plant a seed, but we
cannot make a seed grow.  God does that
through the mystery of creation, and we
can only watch in wonder and be ready to
reap when the time is right. 

The third parable highlights the impact
that one small seed can have.  A mustard
seed is small, but it grows into a plant so
large  that birds can make a home in it. 
There is a tremendous amount of potential
in that one seed.

All of these parables illustrate the Gospel
seed.  We may not understand exactly how
God uses the Gospel to work in a person’s life,
but we know that if we sow the seed, it will
have a huge impact. We must be ready to do
our part in planting and reaping the harvest
while trusting God to do the real work of
causing that seed to bring forth fruit.