David Bahn – Reflections

Mark 4:13-20

¹³ And he said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables? ¹⁴ The sower sows the word. ¹⁵ And these are the ones along the path, where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them. ¹⁶ And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: the ones who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy. ¹⁷ And they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away. ¹⁸ And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word, ¹⁹ but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. ²⁰ But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.”

Jerry had an impact. He opened a door and invited me in. He introduced me to photography. He shared his faith. He encouraged me to become a pastor. He had an impact. Gary’s roommate had an impact. He simply asked  Gary one day, “Do you realize that you have been forgiven by Jesus for all your sins?” Gary became a strong leader in his church and great friend of several pastors, and this humble man helped keep the ship of the local church he attended headed in Christ’s direction. Lorine had an impact. She saw a co-worker who was struggling in her marriage and took the time to listen and love. She involved others in her conspiracy of love and helped get this couple through some very difficult situations. Her friend’s estranged husband went from living in his truck to being a husband and dad at home again, to serving as an elder in his church. Tina had an impact. She was led to a very different kind of ministry, Church on the Slab, where she feeds homeless men and women and children with food for the body and spiritual nourishment of the word for their souls. Somehow the word was sown into these people’s lives and it produced a crop: thirtyfold, sixtyfold, and a hundredfold.

How might you have an impact like these people? The answer is really quite simple: receive the word and let it do its work in your heart. Don’t let the cares of the world, the deceitfulness of riches, the hardness of your heart, or the crafty ways of Satan steal your joy, destroy your hope or kill your soul. Repent! Believe the good news of Jesus. Embrace the grace and truth of God in Christ. Understand your calling as a child of God and a representative of the Kingdom of God. We can never behave ourselves into God’s kingdom. But we can–as sons and daughters of the king–have a huge impact in the world around us by reflecting God’s values and love, and by joining God in his work in our world. This is God’s hope and will for those who have heard the word about God’s kingdom.