The writer raises a profound question in our text: What is man, that thou art mindful of him? It's a question that all should consider. What does man possess that would cause the sovereign God of the universe to give his only begotten Son as a payment for the sins of all of humanity? 

We should consider first some truths about man:
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• Genesis 2:7; Man Is A Created Being. "God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul." 
• Genesis 1:26; Man Is A Complex Being. "And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness..." Meaning man is a triune being, in that, he possesses a body, a soul and a spirit. 
• Genesis 3:17-18; Man Is A Cursed Being; "And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake..." Man became alienated from God under the curse of sin.

But what is man at the very source? Strip away the flesh and what can we see? The answer to that question is found in the first verse we cited... At the very essence of man lies a soul. The soul is the immaterial aspect that gives man his ability to connect to his surroundings through emotion; its where thought, reason, and rationalization takes place. The soul is what makes us who we are both male and female. The body (flesh) is the vehicle to which our soul moves around in the world. The spirit is the immaterial aspect that allows man to be connected with God. That spirit is born dead in sin, but quickened (made alive) at the time of salvation. So with that in mind; God sees a soul. If we are to be true in our witnessing and spreading the gospel message of Christ we must see the soul of man in light of how God sees the soul of man and at that point we can see why God would love us so much he would give his only Son in our stead.  So consider this about the soul:

1. The Soul Has No Expression - the soul itself has no color, creed or predisposed condition. Though, veiled in a body that does, God sees beyond who and what we are. He loves us in spite of us. As we go through life telling others about Jesus we cannot look at the person for who or what they are on the outside; but realize that beneath all of what we see lies a soul that needs a savior. 
2. The Soul Has No Extermination - the soul will never die. It does not matter the condition of man's soul at death; it will live for all eternity in heaven or hell. There's no ceasing in the soul. 
3. The Soul Has No Expectation - outside of the grace of God in salvation there's no hope for a soul. The only way for a soul to be made right in the eyes of God is through the salvation of Jesus Christ. He alone satisfied the holy demand of God. 

So in closing; man is a living soul. When you encounter people, look not on their outward appearance but remember that beneath all of what we can see lies a soul in need of salvation!

In this particular passage of scripture we are met with the parable of the sower. Jesus begins to introduce a man who went into the field to sow seed and gives a description of certain types of ground the sower would encounter. We understand that the primary teaching of Christ in this parable relates to the uncultivated heart of man, but I am interested in the secondary application; the intention of the sower. 

1) THE SOWER'S MISSION FOR THE SEED (v.3)

The sower has one desire as he enters his field and that is to get his seed into the soil. He wants to plant his crop so that he can reap the harvest in due season. I would like for those of us that are saved to realize that God didn't give us the gospel for ourselves only, but that we might take the seed of the message of Christ and enter the field of this world and sow seed. We are commanded of God to do so: Mark 16:15; Matt. 28:19-20; Acts 1:8. 

2) THE SOWER'S METHOD OF SOWING SEED (v.4-8)

As you read the parable you will see the sower casting his seed into the field. As he goes about there's no place he doesn't sow. Even though he knows there's stony places, thorny places and even places were the fallowed ground had not been broken up he still takes time to cast seed. The lesson to take away is; there's not one place we will go or one person we will meet that doesn't need to hear the message of gospel.

3) THE SOWER'S MEASURE OF SUCCESS (v.9)

It's apparent at the beginning of the parable that the sower had lost some of the seed and it simply fell by the wayside. Other seeds fell in places where no fruit ever flourished. Does that mean the sower failed? Absolutely not! The success of our individual ministries is not based upon how much of the seed becomes fruitful; but our success is based upon how much of the field got covered. The bible tells us that one man soweth and another watereth BUT GOD GIVETH THE INCREASE! Our job is to simply get the seed in the ground and God will do the rest.