"Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and immediately it sprang up, since it had no depth of soil. And when the sun rose, it was scorched, and since it had no root, it withered away" - Mark 4:5-6
All teachers know this. Business people and advertisers know this. Parents also know this, or anyone who is in the business of giving instructions. People - children and adult alike - oftentimes need to hear a lesson more than once to absorb, understand and finally embrace it.
As a mother how many times do you have to remind your children not to hurt their younger sibling, or not to play with a stray cat, or not to forget to brush their teeth before sleeping? As a boss, how many times do you have to tell your employees to turn off the lights when not in use, to conserve water, to be mindful of things that need fixing inside the factory and report them immediately? As a teacher, how many times do you have to give examples, illustrations or drills so that a math skill can be mastered, a date can be memorized or a grammar rule can be understood and used?
Almost every lesson have to be heard more than once to be understood. Even in the bible, every major teaching is repeated several times. What Jesus taught in one place, He will repeat in another. Firstly because practically every person face the same or similar problems every day. And the lessons that Jesus taught were not simply spiritual but also practical..Secondly, there are times when, depending on our emotional, physical and spiritual condition, a lesson may not resonate with us the first time. But the next time around, maybe in the second or third hearing, all our faculties are in sync with the lesson given. It suddenly becomes highly relevant to us, useful to us and we absorb and love it immediately.
The main context of the parable of the sower in Mark 4 is about specific types of people who learn about the good news of God's love, forgiveness and saving grace but each type had a different reaction or response. There are those who heard the lesson but never even had any reaction. There are also those who heard and believed but at the first sign of difficulty, they fall away. Another type listened, believed and embraced but when the temptations of riches and prosperity came, they abandoned their beliefs in exchange for material gains. Then there's the fourth type who upon hearing, everything just made sense with them and they embraced the lesson and were made well by it.
But we can also look at this parable not as different types of people but different seasons or life conditions of the hearer. There are times when the hearer just doesn't care about what he hears for his mind and heart is elsewhere and the lesson seemed to fall on deaf ears. There are times when he hears it, likes it but when he starts to live it, he finds it challenging and more difficult than expected and he drops it. And then there's that season when he finally realizes its importance and he makes it a part of his life. But then again, other "important" things come - riches, friends, hobbies, etc. and he becomes so busy living the good life that he has no more time left to pursue the lesson. But then something happens, perhaps a loss something dear or valuable, a sickness or a big failure and the person hears the lesson again and everything suddenly makes sense. Experience confirms it, his desperation needs it and he decides that it is the most important thing of all and he will never abandon it again.
What lesson is life teaching us today? How many times have we heard that lesson in the past? What pain did we have to endure for not learning the lesson the first time?
The hurt can stop right now if only we understand the lesson, receive it and live it. Our desperation is proof that we have tried other means and they all failed. Our pitiful condition tells us that there are solutions that sound good but are ineffective. Much of what ails us today are the results of sin in either our own life or in the life of the person who's causing us much pain. Jesus is the solution. His saving power is the greatest lesson we can ever learn. I know most of us have heard that lesson in the past, perhaps not just once or twice. But if our life today is not yet in order, then perhaps we are not yet of the fourth type of hearer or perhaps we need to hear it the fourth time, when our heart is already open and ready. Talk to someone or get somewhere where you may hear the lesson again. End the suffering. Learn the lesson.
