The Soil of My Heart
Spring is here! I love it. I love new growth, the smell of fresh cut grass, the budding flowers and the dynamic combination of lots of sunshine and lots of spring showers.
However all that new growth means the ugly stuff grows too.
This is the first spring in our new house and we quickly discovered that our yard needed some serious help. Because I was going to be out of town I drafted this sketch of our yard and all that I believed needed attending.
Horrible! – both my artistic talent (or lack thereof) and the amount of work that needs to be done.
11 “This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God. 12 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. 13 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. 14 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. 15 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.” Luke 8:11-15 NIV
For most of my life I’ve applied this passage to the how people hear about the truth of the Gospel and receive salvation, but this morning I was reading it in my devotion time and it took on a new layer of meaning to me…
Where is the soil of my heart not healthy enough to receive the seeds of truth that I need to grow in Christ-likeness in other areas of my life?
Is the bermuda grass of control woven so deeply throughout the soil of my heart that the good seeds of faith and trust in God stand no chance of thriving?
Are the rocks of independence keeping me from learning to rely on God and others and living in healthy community?
Are the weeds of old habits and petty sins growing faster and dominating the landscape where a few healthy sprouts are desperately trying to survive?
Our hearts can start to look a lot like that horrible sketch of mine. We become busy and distracted and before we know it our hearts are horribly overgrown with things we never intended to be there. The fruits of the spirit are being choked out and we need a fresh pruning and some maintenance to get things re-cultivated.
Where is your heart overgrown? Can you take some time this weekend to pull some weeds and clear out some rocks?
