Servanthood is a very difficult thing. Recent events have made me question my ability to be humble in “all circumstances”, and I wonder sometimes if I will ever figure it out in this lifetime.
Various issues and situations have cropped up in recent weeks, and I’ve been evaluating my reactions to them. Sometimes, people would pass along some “news”, and I would be dwelling upon it for days, thinking about the ramifications. Other times, people would be giving me insight into some personal issues which reveal to me the complexity (or simplicity) of their ingrained personal philosophies which appear to supersede (or in some cases override!) the clear directives found in Scripture. It made me wonder about the parable of the sower…
Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed sown along the path. The one who received the seed that fell on rocky places is the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away. The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful. But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown …
Sometimes we all need to evaluate where we stand, and this requires serious humility. Yes, we all have our own “take on things”, but do we really mean it when we say that God has the ultimate and final say, or does it just sound nice when we’re around other people?