NKJV
“Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. Those by the wayside are the ones who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. But the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away. Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity. But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience."
The rarity that the word of God lands on the good soil of my heart hurts to think about. There are so many hours of sermons I’ve listened to, thousands of words I've read, and so much time spent in studies, I thought I'd be so much further along by now. But, Jesus expected it, and even more, knew it would happen to me when He spoke this parable.I've experienced each of these four scenarios, as I imagine every other Christian has, and those who aren't Christians as well (because there are those who have heard but had the word snatched away by the Devil). Not as often have I experienced the word being tossed on the wayside, because that was mostly through childhood years where Mom and Dad would bring me to church or speak verses into my life but it would go over my head. Although, some word did land unknowingly in my heart as the fruit of salvation has been yielded for me. The seeds landing on the rocks and among thorns are all too familiar. I can remember many a time when I would walk out of a service being overflowing with the Spirit and loving God, and later that day and week falling away from the intimacy with God as I faced testings and temptations. I had no root, and even now my root isn't as deep as it needs to be. In a similar way as the rock, I also experienced the thorns. The two really worked together to keep me from a deeper relationship with Christ and developing a root. Not even a year ago I was obsessed with making money and buying car parts with it. I had all the dreams and passions of pursuing what the world had to offer, the money, the career, the status. Those selfish desires coupled with the trials and temptations drove me into a deeper relationship with myself than with Christ. The worst part? They always led to dead ends and dissatisfaction. I wouldn't have enough money, or my car wasn't fast enough or clean enough or up to my ever evolving vision of what I wanted it to be and it left me empty. My priorities were so wack that I’d have to decide whether to tithe or buy another part. Thankfully I’ve moved on from all that, but there are certainly still lingering rocks and thorns. As all of this led me to emptiness, I found myself desiring to truly seek God. I need that root grown so deep that no one or no thing could uproot me from my confidence and satisfaction in Christ. So, here I am in IGNITE, desiring to have my heart tilled into good soil, that I may yield a crop a hundredfold and have my heart rooted and fed by the divine fertilizer of the Word of God and the water of His love for me.
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