Seed That Fell Along The Path

A devotional on Youversion from Uncommen: Soil

Today’s Soil Sample: The Path

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 their heart. This is the seed sown along the path.

Matthew 13:18‭-‬19 NIV

That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up.

Matthew 13:1‭-‬4 NIV

If you are familiar with the parable of the sower, you know it talks about seed (the Gospel) scattered on different types of soil. In case you didn’t know, you and I are the soil.

Have you ever been walking down a dirt road or even a paved walkway and see a flower right on the edge? While it may look nice, you think, “someone is going to step on this flower and kill it.” It’s too close to the road and will not be there for long. 


There is a road I drive on frequently that doesn’t have a turning lane. So people naturally make their own by driving on the grass right at the corner. They don’t want to wait for the car in front who is going straight to get out of the way, so they improvise. Over time, the grass has been killed further and further away from the road. 


In verse 19, Jesus tells us, “the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is the one on whom seed was sown beside the road.” Similar to the seed mentioned in verse 4 as well, this seed is completely resistant to the Gospel. You could say “dead in their sins.” They’re snatched by the evil one and eaten by the birds.


Ligonier Ministries helps us here by noting… “His heart is calcified to the point where it resists all penetration by the seed, which is devoured by the Evil One and his minions, who were often represented by birds in first-century Jewish literature.”

What can we do for people like this? Well, often, people this opposed to the Gospel can be challenging to converse with and convert. Ultimately, we should be praying for these kinds of people. God is the one who changes hearts. We can’t force them to have an interest in the Gospel; it must come from God.

So, we should pray. However, we should find opportunities to talk about Jesus and display Christ-like characteristics. We may not be able to have sit-down conversations about the Gospel, but we can pique curiosity. 

As believers, we certainly don’t want to be resistant to the Gospel. It should penetrate every part of our lives. We need help with that. It starts with prayer. Ask God to help be receptive to His Word and His sanctification.


Uncommen Questions:


Do you evangelize?

Does the Gospel penetrate your life?

Uncommen Challenge:

Pray for unbelievers. Pray for yourself.