LIVING WORD DEVOTIONAL
By Pastor Mensa Otabil
Tuesday 24th August 2021
SOME FELL BY THE WAYSIDE
Scripture Reading: Matthew 13:1-23
And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them. Matthew 13:4
In this parable, Jesus uses the broadcast method of sowing seed to tell the story. The broadcast method of sowing has the sower picking up seeds in his hand, and throwing them on the field he wants to plant. Farmers used this method in planting grains like wheat and barley in the days of Jesus.
The first soil the parable mentions is the ‘wayside’ or the path. The farms usually had roads or beaten paths going through them where people would walk. The ‘wayside’ was therefore, a walkway that ran through the farms. It was not a reference to a wayside in the city but one that was on the farm.
Although the ‘wayside’ was on the farm, it was actually soil that farmers had walked on for so long that it had hardened. A seed falling on this ground doesn’t penetrate the soil. Since farmers did not plough the wayside, a seed that falls there is exposed until a bird spots it and eats it up.
Jesus identified this as the attitude of those who receive the word of God and treat it casually. Such people never allow the word they have received to settle in their hearts. Though the seed of the word they receive has the power of God in it, they do not cherish and protect the word when it comes to them.
People with a ‘wayside’ attitude allow the word to roll off their hearts or get kicked about by other concerns until, the enemy takes the word from them. Jesus described people with such an attitude to the word as people who do not understand the word. They don’t allow the word to speak to them. The enemy that steals the word could be our traditions, old ideas, doubts or the routines of our life.
Frequently in the Bible, we are admonished to pay attention to the word of God. Whether we are privately reading the scriptures or listening to an exposition of the scriptures, we must focus our attention on what we are reading or listening to.
God’s word is not only to be read or spoken; we must also understand it. The scriptures are to be our meditation day and night; we must think about them and ponder over what the Lord wants to tell us.
Today, I pray that we will not have a ‘wayside’ attitude to the word of God.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank you for your precious word. Give me a heart and mind that retains your knowledge. In Jesus’ name, Amen!