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While a large crowd was gathering and people were coming to Jesus from town after town, he told this parable: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds of the air ate it up.

This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God. Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved.” – Luke 8:5, 11-12.

Jesus often spoke in parables. In this parable of the sower, he used an agricultural illustration which his audience could easily relate with. Unfortunately, even his disciples did not get the message but they had the privilege of having him explain the meaning to them privately.

A farmer went out to sow his seed, which Jesus explained as being the word of God. Jesus used the analogy of four different types of soils to describe the different kinds of hearts that have the word of God sown in them. The type of heart that is of interest in these meditations is the heart that Luke says is as a path. In a previous article on the same soil, we had considered Matthew’s account of this parable. There, Jesus said the seed that fell along the path represented a heart of someone who heard the word but did not understand, allowing the evil one to snatch the word away from their heart. I said then that understanding is key to bearing fruit from the word of God. A lack of understanding left the word exposed and allowed the thief to steal it, leading to unfruitfulness. 

In this article, I would like to focus on the enemy, the thief, who snatches away the word from the heart, leaving it with nothing to fruit from.

The Word Trampled Underfoot

As soil is to a seed so is a person’s heart to the word of God. Just like soil can receive a seed and bear fruit, so can the heart receive the word of God and bear fruit. No matter how viable a seed is, it cannot bear fruit unless it finds soil. As for the soil, for what purpose is it if it is not sown with seed? The two must come together for fruit to be borne. As this parable indicates, the success of this coming together is very much dependent on the quality of the soil; if it is the seed of the word of God, its quality is guaranteed.

Luke says when the seed fell along the path; it was trampled on. The almighty has spoken and his eternal word is trampled underfoot. That paints a picture of a careless listener to the word of God. You may be quick to dismiss that as being alien to you. On a Sunday for instance, you got up early, dressed nicely and took a front row seat in church. Good as that is, it may not always pass for giving the word the attention it deserves. 

What are some ways you may be guilty of trampling the word underfoot? At the slightest beep of your phone (if you silenced it at all) during a message, you suspend your listening to check your phone or went out to answer a call you couldn’t miss. If your Governor was the one speaking, would you leave them to go take a call? I thought so too. In your judgement, the preacher is not a good orator or you don’t fancy his delivery style so he doesn’t deserve your attention. “He is boring, ‘lemme’ check for updates from my Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter or Instagram feeds”, you opt. Instead of paying attention, you may be thinking of what to buy in the market for the Sunday meal after service. Or there is a woman who dresses gorgeously and eccentrically and wears noisy heels and you always look forward to the latest styles she would adorn on Sunday. She provides good fodder for your after-service gossip. Immediately a scripture is mentioned and you start to turn the pages of your bible, ‘koin, koin, koin’ you hear her walk in and you can’t miss catching sight of her. It’s her over the word. Remember that guy who always turns up late to church and wears a rather strong perfume? You always switch attention from the preaching to wondering when he goes to bed on Saturdays and can’t border to be punctual to church week after week. “Why does brother Zephaniah always sleep in church?” you turn your attention to wonder. The derby football match between your favourite team and their fiercest rivals is on Sunday and the preacher doesn’t seem to realize that. Why can’t he learn to summarize his messages? If he exhausts all his preaching today, what will he say when next he’s called on to preach? Anything and everything but listen to the word. The distractions, which also plague your private devotions, can be anything from the legitimate to the ridiculous; whatever they are, they amount to a careless, half-hearted listening when God is speaking. And we are all guilty at one time or the other. Is there any wonder why someone references a particular sermon as being pivotal in their lives while you wonder where you were during the same service? 

The distractions, which also plague your private devotions, can be anything from the legitimate to the ridiculous; whatever they are, they amount to a careless, half-hearted listening when God is speaking.

The Thief Cometh Not, But For To Steal

You may not care so much about the word, but the devil does, not because he wants to profit from it but to steal it and keep you from being fruitful. Jesus said that when the seed was trampled on, the birds of the air ate it up. That doesn’t sound like they left anything behind but ate it all up. Jesus said the devil is the one who takes away the word. I know that many times when you get to church, your opening prayer contains lines like taking over the place and banning every activity of Satan. But the day that the angels came to present themselves before God in Job 1:6, Satan also came with them. The devil attends your Sunday services too. He is not all-powerful, but he is waiting to eat up what you will trample on. He, through his minions, watches every frown, every attitude (did you just look at your wristwatch as the speaker shows no intention of ending his monologue?), every distraction, every sigh that you make and is ready to pounce on every word you don’t treasure. And he is ready to assist you to assist his cause as well. When you do not believe any truth, the devil is with you. Paul says he has “blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the glory of the gospel of Christ” (2 Corinthians 4:4). Anytime Christ and his glory do not appear beautiful to you, it is not that Jesus has lost any lustre; the devil has poked a finger in your eye.

You may not care so much about the word, but the devil does, not because he wants to profit from it but to steal it and keep you from being fruitful

Like I said earlier, this thief is not a hungry individual who steals to fill his belly. Jesus said he steals the seed so that you may not believe and be saved. Whatever it is that God wanted to accomplish in your life on that day, the enemy’s intention is to stop you from profiting from it. He comes only to steal and kill and destroy. Have you wondered why you couldn’t shake off sleep, wandering thoughts or where those useless imaginations come from and why they wait till the preacher has mounted the podium, why you don’t seem to remember the day’s sermon? Look no further; ‘demonic birds’ are hovering over your head. Do not cooperate with them.

I know that many times when you get to church, your opening prayer contains lines like taking over the place and banning every activity of Satan. But the day that the angels came to present themselves before God in Job 1:6, Satan also came with them. The devil attends your Sunday services too. He is not all-powerful but he is waiting to eat up what you will trample on.

Fight for The Seed

In this part of the parable, there is no neutrality concerning the seed – it is either it fruits or the birds steal it. There is no trampling on the seed and the birds not finding it. It is either you profit or the devil will. You may not think highly about the word but the devil does. He has spent millennia seeing the power of the word and he is out to scuttle its work in your life. Beloved, this is war! Fight!

You must wake up from every lackadaisical attitude to the seed of the word of God and fight for every truth that God graciously drops your way. But how? You may need to begin by going early to bed the night before the Sunday morning service so that you disarm the thief of the weapon of sleep. You may need to leave your phone at home when going to church; silencing it from notifying you is a bare minimum. If there is someone who particularly distracts you, you may need to change the portion of the pew or seat you normally sit in. Your wandering thoughts? Take authority and demolish every deceptive fantasy; capture, like prisoners of war, every thought and insist that it bow in obedience to Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5). Those who heard the word and didn’t profit from it failed to because the word did not mix with faith in their hearts (Hebrews 4:2). Pray that you will be gifted with faith to believe the truth and profit thereby. Paul prayed that the Ephesian believers would have the eyes of their hearts enlightened (Ephesians 1:18). Make that prayer for yourself. It is the devil who veils people’s hearts that they might not see the glory of Christ in the gospel. Thankfully, “whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away” (2 Corinthians 3:15-15). Turn to the Lord every time you are about to hear the word. Pray for the preacher of the day to be granted utterance; make war for the word in the place of prayer before service and during the service.

You must wake up from every lackadaisical attitude to the seed of the word of God and fight for every truth that God graciously drops your way.

In closing, two words on your attention. Let Jesus have the first: “Therefore consider carefully how you listen” (Luke 8:18). How you listen determines if you trampled on the word or not and whether the birds will steal it or not. The second word goes to the writer to the Hebrews: “We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away” (Hebrews 2:1). After you have heard, meditate on it, turn it over in your mind like candy in your mouth until you take out of it every nourishment you can.

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