Well, the last job is done for the winter—tilling the garden. Dear old Tilly is out there now, purring away until the gas is gone. A good wash and she gets to rest for the season.
The garden is ready, but for what? It’s ready to rest; however, any seeds that are still in the ground are also ready to sprout as soon as the weather gets warmer. Even while the snow is on the ground, that seed is ready—ready for the sun! The question is: Am I ready for the Son and His Word to sprout in my life?
It’s not by accident that the next few verses in Luke eight are about soil. The chapter starts with an account of Jesus and his followers going from town to town “preaching and shewing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God.” As though to encourage the sowers, Jesus tells the parable about the four soils: wayside, rocky, thorny, and good. Our responsibility is to give the Word. There’s nothing wrong with the Seed—the Word of God, and there may be nothing wrong with the sower—YOU! Doing a heart-check is always good to be sure that the Spirit has free reign and our motives are correct; however, it is also good for us to remember that the fruit of the hearer is NOT our responsibility. I can no more make someone respond to the Word of God than I can make my tomato plants grow! How comforting!
SOOO, what about when WE are the soil, we are the receiver of the Seed–what is our responsibility to the Seed of the Word? The question becomes: Am I responding to God’s Word correctly? 1 Corinthians 15:58 gives us some pointers on the issue:
Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.
- Be steadfast—unwavering, unfaltering, resolute, persistent, committed, dedicated, unswerving, firm. (Aren’t synonyms helpful?)
- Unmovable—unaffected, unmoved, untouched, unbothered, unbending, inflexible, unyielding, unwavering, rigid, obdurate (that’s a new one to me!), adamant, unreceptive (INTERESTING!), unrelenting, not influenced or swayed
- Always abounding in the work of the Lord IS the fruit of always bounding in the Word of the Lord! Be ready. Even though you may be in a ‘winter’ time of fruitfulness, know that God is always working in your heart, your children, your ministry. Be ready! Be set! Be willing to wait!
