Preparing Our Hearts For The Challenge Ahead
Monday, February 24th – Luke 8:4-15 (NIV)
“While a large crowd was gathering and people were coming to Jesus from town after town, he told this parable: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds ate it up. Some fell on rocky ground, and when it came up, the plants withered because they had no moisture. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown.”
When he said this, he called out, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”
His disciples asked him what this parable meant. He said, “The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to others I speak in parables, so that,
“‘though seeing, they may not see;
though hearing, they may not understand.’
“This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God. Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. Those on the rocky ground are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away. The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature. But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.”
This parable has two themes, seeds and soil, and two participants, God and us. He has always been about a relationship with us. In this parable He is the sower of His Word–the seed, and we are the ground–our hearts. He wants to sow his seed into our lives to grow us to be fruitful and have an abundant life. We need to prepare or work the ground of our hearts to be ready to accept His word into our lives. If we take the time to cultivate the ground, when the sowing happens it will land on good and accepting soil, ready to grow. Preparing our heart is taking the time to be prayerfully asking God to help us weed, remove and break up areas of sin, hardness or apathy that is in our lives, preventing the word of God from changing and growing good fruits. As the parable tells us, when both God and us do our part, His seed sown into good soil, an abundant crop of love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, kindness, faithfulness, and self-control yields 100 times.
What kind of ground and soil do you have in your life today? Are you prepared to work with God in order to have a harvest of spiritual fruit?
Lord, Thank you for always including us in your good work in our lives. Help us cultivate the soil of our heart so that the good work of God has the best effect in our lives. Help us prepare our heart for the planting of the seeds to grow us spiritually. Give us rest and patience through the process and help us endure it with joy. Thank you for the fruitfulness of our lives that you plant, water and harvest in us throughout this campaign and our lives.
– Lynette Paulson
