Jesus’ parable of the four soils (Matt. 13) is telling how the Kingdom of God grows.
As we (the visible church) tell people the good news of Christ’s kingdom inaugurated by his incarnation, death, resurrection, ascension, promised return, and of the gift of his Spirit, we are sowing the seed of his Kingdom and we do so praying expectantly: “Thy Kingdom come.” Our (the sower’s) job is to sow the seed, and the seed that falls on the quarter of the good ground (per the parable) will bear fruit. We aren’t able to discern the good soil before we sow, so we sow wherever we can. We sow with the aim to reach out to those who don’t know Jesus (evangelism), as well as to those Christians who can disciple them. We sow by proclaiming the gospel (the faith once for all delivered to the saints–Jude 1), both by preaching/teaching and by personal witnessing as God grants opportunity.
Sowing is done in the assurance that the Word never returns void. Sowing is success because it yields the outcome God willed. Even when our time of sowing yields true faith in the good soil, we may be reaping what was sown previously. We don’t allow ourselves to become discouraged or question God’s methods for sowing, for we know that sinners repent and are transformed/discipled only as the sovereign Spirit graciously grips their lives in response to the Gospel proclaimed. We continue to expend the diligent effort, dependent on God’s grace and strengthened by Christ, to sow for God’s glory.
Read the full article at: https://rcus.org/issue/july-august-2025-reformed-herald/
