LISTEN

Matthew 13:36-43

Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples approached him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.” 

He answered, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man; the field is the world, and the good seed are the children of the kingdom; the weeds are the children of the evil one, and the enemy who sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. Just as the weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers, and they will throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. “

“Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Let anyone with ears listen!”

What Kind of Soil Is Your Heart Today?

“Hearken; Behold, there went out a sower to sow:” – Mark 4:3

Onto four soils seed fell as the sower planted the Word of God.

Wayside soil received seed on the surface. It laid there. Before anything else could happen, something snatched it away.  The Word is sown in many hearts daily, but it comes only as a curiosity or matter of fact. Some distraction or contradiction prevents it from working in the life of the hearer.

Rocky soil received the seed, but only in a shallow way. Seeds must take root. If they meet resistance just beneath the surface, what has sprung forth dies. Our souls must be tilled. Without depth of reception that allows truth to deeply root, there is no permanent growth.

Thorny soil eventually chokes out new life as old growth wraps around the young shoots and squeezes the life out of them. Those who receive the Word amongst the weeds of cares may find the life being choked out of their new found faith.

Good soil is ready to receive. As good soil receives seed, so the well tended heart-garden is tilled and weeded. It is prepared and receptive. It swallows the Word which sinks in. As life emerges, it is allowed to thrive and grow. Good soil is a heart ready to hear and act upon what it hears.

If you are a sower of the Word, pray for those into whose lives you desire to plant the seeds of truth.

Even Christians can have areas of their lives that need fresh seeds from the Word with varying degrees of readiness to receive. What kind of soil are you and what can you do about it?

You can also pray. If your soil is a shallow wayside, are you willing to be consecrated and cultivated as a Garden of God? If your soil is rocky, are you willing to be sifted and tilled? If your soil is thorny, are you willing to be weeded?  These are very large questions that require hard and honest answers.

If your soil is good, receive and rejoice! God is about to do something wonderful in your life.