NOTES for Mar 4:1-20

It is very important to understand that everything we receive from God — knowledge, inspiration, strength, time, money, and the circumstances of life — is seed, certain words through which the Lord reveals His Kingdom to us. Moreover, everything He gives us, that is, sows in our hearts, He gives so that it may bear some fruit within us. God always sows for good. Thus, what is required of us is, first, attention and diligence, so as not to surrender the precious seed to be plundered by the “birds of the air”; second, patience and perseverance; third, a pure heart, free from thorns, other weeds, and rubbish; and finally, a fertile layer of soil. We receive that as a gift too, but it must also be watered, cultivated, fertilized, and so forth. All this turns our life into work in a garden, just as Adam was called to till and keep the Garden of Eden. With proper care, openness to God, the rays of His Son, and the dew of His Spirit, we can produce a good harvest — even more than in the parable of the talents — and multiply the ray of God’s love that enters our heart a hundredfold, that is, shine like the sun ourselves (Matt 13:43).