"Gardening"

I have never had a green thumb. I am fond of saying I have the ability to make silk flowers wilt! But even with my notorious limited knowledge on the subject, I understand the necessity of "weed and feed" for best results. The more I have attempted to keep my plants alive, and the more it becomes a desire in me, the more effort I put into making this a reality (if only limited at present to marigolds!).

One of my favorite passages which I have been meditating upon lately is ” the parable of the seed and the soils " in Mark chapter 4. In this passage, Jesus describes a sower who sows good seed on four different types of soil and the outcome each soil produced. The first soil is simply along a path with no real depth to it at all. Not surprisingly, the birds quickly ate this seed and there was nothing produced. The second soil was full of rocks with only a little soil. It quickly sprang up but because there was no depth, the plant quickly withered in the heat of the day. The third soil had many thorns which choked and suffocated the plant so it yielded no harvest. Lastly, the seed was sown into what the Amplified Bible calls “good, well-adapted” soil and brought forth grain, growing up and increasing, yielding some 30 times as much, some 60 times as much and some 100 times as much.

Obviously the parable is explaining how the Word is sown into people’s hearts and how that Word is received and the results it produces. But verse 24 is the climax to this passage that challenges me everyday. In the Amplified Bible it reads, “And He said to them, “Be careful what you are hearing. The measure [of thought and study] you give [to the truth you hear] will be the measure [of virtue and knowledge] that comes back to you--and more [besides] will be given to you who hear. For to him who has will more be given; and from him who has nothing even what he has will be taken away [by force].

When Jesus began teaching this parable he said in verse 3, “Give attention to this!” He knows the Israelites are “ever hearing but not grasping the truth” verse,12.

So...here’s the challenge: If you are feeling spiritually empty, powerless over sin, not making forward progress in your faith and discipleship of Jesus Christ, etc., let me ask you: What is the condition of your soil? Have you obeyed the Word of God that you DO know so that the Word can grow deep roots that results in fruit? Are we comfortable with boulders and thorns as long as we see a “little” green here and there? I decided for myself that “a little green” was not enough. I got busy getting some boulders out of my heart. (By the way, bitterness is one weed that will take root in ANY soil so I am vigilant now to be on guard for it and get that weed “outta here” pronto).

I am challenged and blessed that Jesus has promised to increase my understanding and fruit as I give His Word the priority and authority it should have in my life. The scary part? There is an equal promise that if I do not pay attention to His Word….what little knowledge I have ‘will be taken by force”.

I know someone who has walked away from following after the Lord and said they never understood the Bible and God never talked to them. I also know that this person spent very little time reading the Word and when it came to follow the Word or the world, the world won. What little this person had seems to have been “taken away” and I NEVER want to be like that.

I may never have a pretty flower bed or voluminous garden, but this I want with all my heart: a harvest of righteousness produced by being a listener and a doer of the Word of God.