Good soil for Wayward Seed?

There's a sad fact that needs to be addressed. Far more seed has been lost by the Church than has been allowed to flourish. I speak, of course, in the context of the Parable of the Sower. Surely the time has come for a conservation campaign, for a rescue mission to ensure that as much seed as possible is nourished and nurtured and allowed to reach full potential? In short, people need, as never before, to be thoroughly saved from a World that is going to the dogs.

The Parable shows us the three ways that the flame of faith lit by the first spark of understanding of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ can be extinguished. It can be flicked out at source, it can be smothered through a lack of depth or it can be quenched through worldly concerns. All three are currently prevalent and it is my contention that all three are generally not adequately dealt with by today's Church.

In the first case, the Parable tells us that Satan can come and take away the word that is sown in the new Christian. We must look at the context where this has happened. Perhaps they were touched by a good sermon and responded to an altar call, but were never followed up. Perhaps there was an emotionally charged atmosphere, or a particularly charismatic speaker. Perhaps there was another person involved, a shared experience, a special moment. Something that seemed so right, so all-encompassing at the time, becomes a vague memory in the cool light of day, when reason kicks in and that early spark of the divine touch is snuffed out.

In the second case we read of those who accept the Gospel with joy, but they don't move on in the faith, in terms of fellowship and good solid teaching. They are not rooted in the faith, they have not acquired the tools to persevere and persist in their calling. A hint of persecution, whether a nasty word in the office or full blown discrimination and they opt for safety. They fall away. Maybe there are regrets or perhaps they simply declare, "It was just a phase and I've come to my senses now".

Finally there are those who allow themselves to be so choked up in the World and its concerns that their faith is suffocated. A little dose of reality is enough for them to disown their Saviour. Perhaps things take a turn for the worse for them in terms of health, finances or circumstance and they fail to see how their faith can show them the bigger picture and help them overcome obstacles. Perhaps the lure of the World with its promises of wealth, power or pleasures, is just too much and they succumb to their earthly desires. Perhaps, most frightening of all, they have succumbed to deception, to unbiblical teaching that is only too common in Churches today, where sacrifice and fruitfulness have given way to personal blessing and prosperity, with the focus on treasures on Earth, rather than in heaven.

In our 21st Century World, these three are only too common. How has the Church dealt with them adequately? How can the Church deal with them in this new technological society, this communication revolution brought about by the rise of the internet and digital media?

How indeed?