Many know Luke 8:4-15 as the "Parable of the Sower." Perhaps it is familiar to you as well? There are four different types of soil into which seeds are sown: thorny, rocky, shallow, and good. A,B,C, & D. The difference is not in the methods of the sower nor the type of seed, but in the condition of the soil receiving it. For this reason, some have suggested that it should rather be called the "Parable of the Soils."
If not for the disciples' questioning, we would have to guess at the deeper meaning of this farming tale; but Jesus explains each metaphor. The seed is the word of God. The birds that eat the seed that fell on rocky pathway represent the devil. The thorns are the cares, riches, and concerns of life. The soil is the heart condition of the listener. The usual exposition of this passage, after describing the four scenarios, asks us to look at our own lives to see how it may apply. Which type of soil are we? As parents, however, this parable has additional and powerful applications.
The job of rearing children is unique and wondrous. Parents plant seeds, of course. But more importantly, we have the responsibility to affect the soil - the environment into which the seeds fall. What a sacred responsibility. Let us consider the significance of parents in each case or soil type:
A. Consider the thorns. These are the cares, riches, and concerns of this life. Parents have direct control over their home environment and the influences and distractions they allow in their children’s lives. Homeschooling parents are an extreme example. Most homeschooling parents are Christian people seeking to remove their children from the degraded social and academic environment of the public schools. [1] But any attentive parent will see bad influences on their children. It is our solemn responsibility to pluck these weeds out before they come to full flower and choke out planted seeds of faith and virtue. Is this not an essential part of parenting?
Parents play a big role in a child's allocation of time. In a fixed lifespan, time is a zero sum game. Any wasted time is not neutral, it is negative - displacing productivity. Many academically successful home schools, recognizing the limitations of time, allow no television or computer games. Every now and then, a child from one such family will make headlines. [2] The media promptly labels them a genius as the general public assures themselves that this is just not normal. Truly, such a home environment isn’t "normal," but it is simply not surprising that children with twice as much free time dedicated to reading and learning do better than average. How belittling it is to attribute the success of someone's hard work to them being "smart." This is not a compliment. The range of human potential has so much overlap that very few differences in academic outcomes relate to anything other than effort. To recognize this effort, diligence, and sacrifice it takes to weed out distractions and unproductive pursuits is a true compliment. To chalk up the results of hard work to some genetic factor is to downplay the effort and justify a lower standard.
In life, all we really have is time. Money represents time. Time invested in learning increases the value and impact of future time. But in the end, all we have is the cumulative value that our time on earth has added to the Kingdom of God. Money, like any resource, is just time materialized. With regard to riches, a child will learn from the parent’s attitude toward money, and be blessed or bound by what he carries from this hidden curriculum into his adult life. Does the parent understand debt as slavery to be avoided, (Prov 22:7) or do they pursue it as a desirable sacrifice of future time to the ever-present god of leisure and pride? Has the master of the house dedicated what he has to the Lord, recognizing his first fruits - as well as title and interest in all things - are Gods for His use? (Ps 24:1) No matter the answer, the child will learn from the example and be either blessed or bound by the lesson learned.
We take care of our children’s physical needs so that they can focus on what they are called to in this stage – learning – in all domains of knowledge. We do this because of the multiplication factor that knowledge has on value of future time. Parents give their children this good gift, and sometimes even look back at the lost opportunities of their own youth wistfully saying “youth is wasted on the young.” The idea of “lifelong learning” is a great mindset, but never again - after entering upon marriage, career, and/or family life - will a person have such unrestricted amounts of time to put into learning. As parents, of course, we understand this, and we must make our children aware of what an opportunity they have. This opportunity should not go to waste! Our job is to remove thorns from their soil.
B. Don't be Careless with Spiritual Instruction. Consider the casual listener from whom the devil (the bird) steals the seed of the word after it is trampled underfoot along the pathway. This is, of course, Satan’s ideal situation – if the seed is gone (trampled underfoot and then eaten by birds) there is absolutely no risk that any fruit will develop. The idea here is a casual, careless, even contemptuous listener without respect for the word of God. To affect this type of soil, parents train their children to listen and respect the word, and “as they get up or lie down or walk in the way.” We must explain how it applies to all aspects of life! We must point out the hand of God at work in our lives as adults. The knowledge of God is profitable for all things pertaining to life and godliness. (1 Pet 1:3) The word of God does not contain an abundance of facts in all subjects, but it includes the source of all facts in every subject. [3] If we meditate on the unchanging principles and justice in God's law, we are promised success and great reward. (Joshua 1:8)
Imbuing respect for God's word is also done through the teaching of sound principles of apologetics and Biblical authenticity. How many children have been drawn away, as the Devil tramples on the seeds of faith and insists, beyond all rational inquiry, that scripture is not historically accurate for one reason or another? A study in apologetics will prepare a student to consider carefully the claims of the skeptic. At the high school level, a course on sound hermeneutics – principles of interpretation – is foundational for our times. A young Christian adult will soon hear the phrase “don’t judge.” This is, most often, ripped form context, and mis-applied. The first principle of hermeneutics is that of internal consistency, or “scripture interprets scripture.” Will not a working knowledge of scripture bring to mind other scriptures such as “Judge with righteous judgments” (John 7:24) or “test all things and hold fast to what is good” (1Thes 5:21)? These indicate immediately that a blanket interpretation of this verse is wrong. In fact, it is exactly backwards. The self-same “judge not” passage (Mat 7) goes on to say “remove the beam in your eye, SO THAT you will see clearly to remove the spec in your brother’s eye.” While admitting our own sinful nature and the clouded subjectivity of our perspective, we can certainly call out what is sin by the objective measure of scripture.
Training our children in apologetics and hermeneutics is training them to take scripture seriously. They should know how to reference a concordance, expository dictionary, and commentaries. Research is a life skill as well as a spiritual discipline. They should be well versed in basic Bible interpretation through courses in Biblical Studies - not so that they can read scripture like any other textbook; but so that they may understand the power and application all of scripture has to all of life. Thus they will not be easily confused by the careless logic and scornful counsel of the unbeliever. (Psalm 1)
C. Cultivate a Diligent Kingdom Mindset. The third type of soil represents one who has an initial emotional response but is subsequently tempted and led astray. There is no patience or perseverance through trial or temptation. When hard times come, the subject reveals their hypocrisy and lack of commitment. Underlying their unbelief is a shallow, emotional understanding of God, not a deep root.
We live in spiritually dark times. There is strong delusion to believe the lie. Yet our children are destined for the service of this generation. That’s a hard job! It will require diligence. Do we teach our children the reward of diligence and the value of hard work? Certainly, and practically, we must consider what abilities God has given them for the work of their hands, and not frustrate their gifts. Teach them to work, not to be slothful as they worship the Lord with their strength! When scripture says "redeem the time," the measure of successful productivity is not money, but impact on the Kingdom of God ("for the days are evil" Eph 5:16).). Money may be a resource to that end, but let's not miss the point.
Our example to our children is of utmost importance. In a world of fear and anxiety, our children should be attracted to the spirit of power and love and a sound mind within us. For God has not given us a spirit of fear (2 Tim1:7)! That is the spirit of the politically-minded, the talk show hosts and talking heads with ads to sell by tickling our itching ears between commercial breaks (the real point of the broadcast). By contrast, we are grounded, anxious for nothing, equipped, not tossed about by every wave of doctrine. (Eph 4:14) Kingdoms rise and kingdoms fall. We are strangers and pilgrims, not citizens of any earthly Kingdom (Phil 3:20). We work at what our hand finds to do - diligently and as unto the Lord, justifying our calling in terms of the Kingdom of God. (Ecc 9:10) Will our children not learn from such an example of patient perseverance?
D. Patiently Persevere in Family Harmony. Lastly, the good soil. Scripture describes an honest and good heart bearing fruit with patience. How do we cultivate this soil environment in our children? The answer: the biblical model of discipleship within the natural family. Considering the change in public opinion on abortion, it is hard to conclude that pro-life attitudes of large, Christian families will not win in the end simply due to birth rate and parents passing on the knowledge of God. We have a sacred trust to pass on to the next generation. (Deut 6:7)
God is the author of families; this is His design, for He saw it as good that man should not be alone. When it comes to homeschooling, we can also consider the corollary: it is not good for woman not be alone. God says he chose Abraham "that he will command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of the Lord, to do righteousness and justice" (Genesis 18:19). The very foundations of the Christian faith are from a single household, and family continues as the primary opportunity for discipleship of the young. He desires godly generations. (Malachi 2:15) Our houses must be like Bethel, a house of God, not a Bethaven, a house of vanity and iniquity. There's a term in use today - a "latchkey kid." These are young children who come home from school to an empty house, and unlock the door themselves. This is not what God designed - children growing up on their own, the subjects and dependents of the state! The state is a bad parent by anyone’s definition, but especially by God’s standard! Their education is godless and profane. They stopped teaching God’s laws, [4] and even abandoned it's derivative “natural law” in favor of blatantly glorifying sin. Public education is undeniably religious in nature.
Throughout our communities, we once had laws that recognized the family as the basic unit of society. In that sense, at least, we were a “Christian nation.” Even something as simple as real estate law formerly treated the husband and wife as a single legal entity with “Tenancy by the Entirety." Tenancy in Common is not the same thing. Spousal privilege and immunity is another example. This vestigial law recognizes the sanctity of marital harmony by preventing someone from being called on by prosecution to testify against their own spouse. This is still recognized in some states. In general, however, the family is no longer a legally recognized unit as the doctrines of statism take over. In full-fledged Communism, the family is outlawed altogether. The communist manifesto makes it clear that family is a threat to their agenda. So too, we see a spirit of individualism pushed by the progressive education establishment in America. We now have to sign special power of attorney documents to be recognized to make decisions on behalf of an incapacitated spouse at a hospital in the name of "privacy"! And this is a minor illustration of the perversion of the natural family in our laws. How different we have become from the world God ordained in which every child has a natural family – their biological father and mother - to disciple and nurture them! How different the world can become if Christian parents take their marriage vows seriously.
To those reading this last essay whose family is broken, I say: do not be discouraged, but do consider what God intended. Surely, we must lament over the children of broken, abusive, or dysfunctional families who may not even know what a loving father looks like! How many metaphors in scripture can be obscured by Satan spitefully stealing this knowledge from a child! Let us recognize what God has ordained, and renew our purpose in the opportunities we have to disciple our children. So too, let us bear one another’s burdens for the benefit of the children from broken families. The church can stand in the gap here as each family in Nehemiah’s day rebuilt the city walls, while armed jointly to rise in defense of the whole. God is a father to the fatherless, and he works supernaturally - often in very natural ways through other people. May we be His hands and His feet.
Lastly, we cannot guarantee that our children will continue in grace. The race is not always to the strong, but let us be found faithful in this one endeavor if we are faithful in anything! Father God, help us to be hearers of this word and deal faithfully with this seed sown to our own hearts. May it fall on good soil, may it bear much fruit. For our children’s sake, let us pursue this good work that we are called to with daily diligence. Let us not grow weary in doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we faint not. Thank You for that promise. In the name of Jesus, Amen.
References -
[1] This observation follows on the observation of Art Robinson, a dad who continued homeschooling his six children after his wife died. A YouTube video with his incredible story, remarkable results, and sagacious points on educational philosophy can be found at www.robinsoncurriculum.com
[2] In their book Homeschooling for Excellence, the Colfax’s point out the average child at the time watched 15,000 hours of television, while only schooling for 11,200 hours. Colfax, David, and Micki Colfax. Homeschooling for Excellence: How to Take Charge of Your Child's Education and Why You Absolutely Must. Grand Central Publishing, 1988.
[3] Rushdoony, R.J., The Philosophy of Christian Curriculum. Ross House Books, 2001. As described in Chalcedon (Chalcedon Podcast RSS). http://chalcedon.edu/blog/homeschooling/2010/8/30/the-philosophy-of-the-christian-curriculum-teaching-bible/
[4] On June 25, 1962, the Supreme Court of the United States banned school prayer and Bible reading in all public school systems. The god of humanism reigns, and as time goes on the humanism becomes more overt. The academic decline is predictable. It is not a failure of the system, it is the very design of the system: mankind is becoming more and more conformed to mankind. All value systems are relative, there is no bottom when eternal virtues are disallowed.
