With a gentle laugh, a friend asked if, after reading the Bible all my life, there was some reason I didn’t know it by now. How could I get anything new out of it? His questions were sincere.
One answer to my friend’s questions lies in the inexhaustible nature of the spiritual ideas conveyed by the words of Scripture. These words are pored over daily by millions of seekers for truth—words powerful, comforting, lyrical, and, when understood, healing.
There’s another answer in a parable Christ Jesus told of a sower. The seed, Jesus explains, symbolizes God’s Word. So, it’s good seed. The point is the quality of the soil it falls into. Some seed falls by the wayside and is eaten by birds—stolen from people’s hearts. Some falls on stony ground, where it’s unable to take root and survive trials. Some falls among thorns—is choked by materialism. But some falls on good soil and bears fruit (see Mark 4:1–20).
