A parable is a story or analogy that helps teach the hearer by using something they do understand to shed light on something they don’t understand. A basketball coach might say, “The Pack Line defense is something we haven’t played before; it combines principles from both zone and man-to-man defenses.”

The basketball coach will need to explain the illustration, or the team will still not understand what the comparison means. That is also true when Jesus used parables. They wouldn’t have understood His parables without his explanation to the disciples.

Luke 8 – The Condition of the Heart

The Parable of the Sower in Luke 8 is about a sower who scatters seed that falls on four different types of ground. Jesus explains the four different types of soil or responses to the gospel. The point of the Parable of the Sower is all about the soil. It’s not that hard to understand the meaning of this parable on the surface, but the real significance is not apparent.

The seed represents God’s Word. The point of the parable concerns the soil. You cannot understand this parable without seeing that the soil is a picture of the human heart. So, the parable is about hearts in different stages of preparedness.

The lesson of this parable is that a person’s response to the Word of God depends on the condition of that person’s heart.

The Kingdom Coach and Athlete know that the results will vary when sharing the gospel or the Word of God with the team. It all depends on the condition of the hearer’s heart. Success does not rely on the coach’s skill in persuading the team. The Kingdom Coach and Athlete believe their faithfulness in witnessing will find positive and negative responses. Their task is to be faithful to the task.

Journaling helps you understand and respond to the Bible. As you journal, use the acronym HEAR to Highlight, Explain, Apply, and Respond to what you have read in the reading plan.

Bible Memory Verse – “The one who listens to you listens to Me, and the one who rejects you rejects Me. And he who rejects Me rejects the One who sent Me.” Luke 10:16 LSB

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