The most important parable Jesus ever spoke concerning the Kingdom of God is the parable of the sower, as recorded in Matthew 13, Mark 4, and Luke 8. Jesus said, concerning this parable, "...Don't you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable?" (Mark 4:13). I won't reiterate here the passages, or their immediate meaning. Jesus did a most excellent job of this. Preceding His explanation of the parable, He said to His disciples, "...The secret of the Kingdom of God has been given to you..." (Mark 4:11a).
What secret is revealed here? The Kingdom of God is here but not with irresistible power. It is not now destroying wickedness, but to the contrary it is like a man sowing seed. Seed does not force itself on the soil; neither does the Gospel (Good News) of the Kingdom force itself on the hearts of men. Jesus goes on to use the imagery of soil types to illustrate the various conditions of men's hearts to whom the Gospel is preached. Some never receive the message at all, allowing Satan to snatch it away immediately. Some receive it, but with no depth. Perhaps intellect or emotions have been stirred, but there is no real life. Consequently, when the inevitable trouble or persecution arise for the very reason that they received the message of the Kingdom, they wither and die because there is no life.
Others, like the thorny ground, appear to have received the word of the Kingdom, even evidencing a sort of life. However, they are not prepared to accept the humble form of the God's Kingdom, and the cares of the world, materialism, the desire for worldly riches and the pressures to conform choke the Word and it becomes unfruitful. So the mystery (revealed secret) of the Kingdom is that it has come among men and yet men can reject it. Please don't get me wrong - it's a wonderful thing when the Kingdom of God shows up with power. However, let us give pause for a moment: Jesus demonstrated the power of the Kingdom more than any other, yet He was despised and rejected by men (Acts 10:38 and Isaiah 53:3); the apostles whose words were confirmed by signs (Mark 16:20), according to tradition all died a martyrs death, except John.
Those who knew of the Kingdom of God only through Old Testament revelation believed the Kingdom of God would come with power. Who would be able to withstand God? Yet the mystery is precisely that the Kingdom has come yet men can reject it. There is a power at work now - power to witness and to preach the Gospel of the Kingdom, yet God will not compel (in this Age) men to bow before it. They must receive it in a willing heart of faith with a submissive will. Now we proclaim the Kingdom as emissaries of God, pleading, not demanding; persuading, not driving. Until harvest time, the weeds and the wheat must grow together, in the world (Matthew 13:24-30; 36-43). The ultimate triumph of the Kingdom of God over the kingdom of the evil one will be at the end of the Age. Until then the sons of the Kingdom - those who have received the Gospel of the Kingdom - and the sons of the evil one will live together in the world.
Until then, as long as one is drawing a breath, reconciliation unto God is possible by exercising faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. After death, and certainly after the final harvest, reconciliation is no longer possible. So much for those who preach the heretical message of universal or ultimate reconciliation. As the Scriptures declare: "Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and He will appear a second time, not to bear sin but to bring salvation [meaning the fullness of our salvation, even the redemption of our bodies c.f Romans 8:23] to those who are waiting for Him" (Hebrews 9:27-28). Don't put off receiving the Gospel of the Kingdom. By the time the Kingdom manifests itself in irresistible power, it will be too late.
Be encouraged while it is yet today. As one of God's fellow workers, I urge you to not receive God's grace in vain. "...I tell you, now is the time of God's favor, now is the day of salvation" (2 Corinthians 6:1-2).
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