The harvest of the heartDevotion in Motion
Matthew 13:18-23
“Therefore hear the parable of the sower: when anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside.”
Notice several truths Jesus tells us about the Kingdom of God… First, the Kingdom does not begin in the form of a war, but a word. Jews thought the reign of God would fall like a hammer, and pound out God’s will, but Jesus says God’s kingdom comes as a seed that’s planted in the heart. The seed is God’s Word – there’s life in the seed. It grows where it’s received. This means the kingdom of God can be resisted. To Jews this was a revolutionary notion.
In its initial phases the Kingdom will not overtake rebels and shackle them with submission. Jews assumed God’s kingdom would steamroll over man’s will – but amazingly, Jesus says the kingdom requires our cooperation. The growth of the seed depends on the condition of the heart. And the human heart comes in four conditions… Here he speaks of the seed that was thrown onto the wayside. The wayside was hard ground – the beaten path. This is the heart where hopes and dreams and optimism have been trampled down. Negativity is habitual.
As soon as the seed hits this ground the birds of skepticism and cynicism eat them up. Satanic vultures devour the seed. The wayside is a faithless heart. Here’s another type of ground. “But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles.” Here’s a shallow heart. Eternity magazine studied the respondents at a large evangelistic crusade. In the week of meetings 4,106 decisions were made for Jesus. But within three months, only 3% of the people were attending church.
That means 3,981 people came forward, had an emotional moment, but failed to follow through. This is stony ground. It’s a shallow heart with a superficial faith. It reacts to an emotional stirring, but fails to sink roots and make a genuine commitment. And what reveals the depth of our devotion? Whether our righteousness has roots? “Tribulation and persecution…” When trouble strikes, faith gets tested.
Verse 22 “Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful.” Here’s a third type of ground – a distracted heart. Here’s a person who chooses to follow Jesus without choosing to denounce the toys, pleasures, and pursuits of this world… And he gets sucked back in. Like Paul’s sidekick, the infamous Demas. He was guilty of backsliding from God. Paul said, “Demas has forsaken me, having loved this present world…” The problem with some of us is not that we don’t want God – we do.
But we want other competing attractions. We desire the very bait that’ll destroy us. One author writes, “We want to be a saint, but we also want to feel sensations experienced by sinners – we want to be pure, but we also want to be experienced and taste all of life – we want to serve the poor and live simply, but we also want to the comforts of the rich – we want the depth of solitude, but we don’t want to miss anything – we want to pray, but we also want to watch television.” We live conflicted lives – and in a distracted heart the world wins out.
There’s the hard ground, the stony ground, and the thorny ground – the faithless heart, the shallow heart, and the distracted heart – but there’s one more heart… Verse 23 “But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a 100-fold, some sixty, some thirty.”
Notice only one-fourth of the farmer’s seed took root. Don’t get discouraged when you share your faith and people don’t receive the Good News of Jesus. Our Lord Himself predicted a one out of four success rate. Notice too, the seed that grows here is the same seed that didn’t grow earlier. There’s nothing wrong with the Word. The problem is not the seed, but the soil. This is why Jeremiah told the people of his day “Break up your fallow ground.”
In other words, repent. Plough up your pride – till under your stubbornness, and humble your heart… Fertile ground is the ground prepared by repentance.
And as always the heart of the matter is the matter of the heart!
Amen
Victor Tafoya
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