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Spring is officially here (according to the calendar) and people are starting to think about the landscaping around their home. They are making preparations for the next season. For the soil to be qualified to grow seed, it needs preparation. According to the world, I am not qualified to pastor this church. Sam Walton wasn’t qualified to run Walmart. Walt Disney wasn’t qualified to run Disney. According to science, the bumble bee can’t fly. It doesn’t have to make sense on paper in order to make sense to God. If you start small and believe God can do something great, then He will.
God’s Word is a seed in our heart. Do we water it or starve it?
When God drops a seed into our heart, we can cultivate that seed or starve it through inaction. In Mark 4:3-20, Jesus shares a parable about a farmer sowing seed. I’d like to offer the section of verses that explain it below:
1. The farmer plants seeds by taking God’s word to others.
We might view this as a missionary or pastor. This is also the person in the workplace who is the only Christian and the person who reaches out to love their neighbors. People tend to read us before they read the bible.
2. The seed that fell on the footpath represents those who hear the Word only to have Satan come at once to take it away.
We leave church, someone cuts us off, and we react with road rage. This can happen only 15 minutes after raising our hands and praising God in church.
3. The seed on the rocky soil represents those who hear the message and receive it with joy. This person doesn’t have deep roots and they fall away as soon as they have problems.
In this situation the person doesn’t spend daily time with God or read their bible daily. They haven’t spent enough time in God’s Word for it to be pulled up from their heart for encouragement in times of trouble.
4. The seed that fell among the thorns represents those who hear God’s Word, but allow the worries of life, the lure of wealth or the desire for other things to crowd it out. So no fruit is produced.
This person is burdened. They are so focused on that burden that they quick forget what they heard in the last sermon. Once they walk out of the church, they are focused on their circumstances and forget that God is right in the middle of it all.
5. The seed that fell on good soil represents those who hear and accept God’s Word. This produces a harvest 100x greater than what was planted.
What does your heart look like? Does it need some cultivation?
I’d like to encourage you to examine your life to determine if God’s Word falling on a dry heart, a hard heart or one that has been cultivated and prepared to receive it. Be aware of the state of your heart, it makes all the difference and it’s half the battle. Once you know that much, you can ask God to do something about it. He loves you too much to leave you where you are today.
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