How does your garden grow?

Luke chapter 8. It starts out with the parable of the sower and the seed.

“While a large crowd was gathering and people were coming to Jesus from town after town, he told this parable: 5 “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds of the air ate it up. 6 Some fell on rock, and when it came up, the plants withered because they had no moisture. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the plants. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown.” When he said this, he called out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” 9 His disciples asked him what this parable meant. 10 He said, “The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to others I speak in parables, so that, ” ‘though seeing, they may not see; though hearing, they may not understand.’ 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 rock 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.”

There are hard hearts that will not receive the seed of good news that Jesus loves them and died for them. There are other hearts that will hear, accept it, flourish for a short time and then die away because their hearts are like rocky soil and the good news can’t take root. Then there are some hearts that will hear, will accept the word of God, will grow for awhile but will eventually be choked out by the cares of this world, money gathering, feeling good.

These three situations make me so sad. Thinking there are those who won’t make it. But I recognize myself and my life before I got saved in all of these situations. So it’s like the Christmas carol when Ebenezer is faced with his eminent death and he says “why show me this if I am beyond all hope?” Why would Jesus point out these heart conditions if there wasn’t a chance for us to recognize ourselves and ask God to change our hearts so that we can receive the word and become the soil that produces a hundred fold? Where am I today? Where are you? If we are bad soil will we pray for God to loosen up our hearts , to remove the rocks and weeds? If we are the good soil are we producing? Are we multiplying the seed that was planted in our hearts?

I have been the hard soil, I have been the rocky soil, and even now without diligence and Gods help and mercy I can easily be overrun with the cares of this world.

Jesus keep my heart clean and receptive to your word. Make me fruitful.