Ready the Ground 2

Matthew 13:5-6

In my years of performing in college plays I was always intrigued by the illusion that a good stage set can present. From the audience it may appear that there is an entire house on the stage. But from behind the scenes you can clearly see that there is no depth to the structures. There is nothing behind what you see from the front.

Jesus continues in his parable about a farmer (God) sowing seed (love). What is the second type of soil mentioned in verse 5? What happens with the seed? What happens to the plant? Why did it fail?

At first glance there seems to be a success story going on here. The seed has found some soil in which to grow. Despite the rocks there is enough dirt that the seeds grow into plants. Success!

But then the sun comes out and burns very bright. The weather heats up. The environment becomes harsh and the plant cannot survive. It withers and dies.

The reason the plant cannot sustain itself is because it has no depth. The root system has not developed to give the plant the strength to endure the harsh environment.

And this is all due to the soil. Because the ground is rocky the dirt is shallow. It has no depth and therefore cannot allow the plant to have depth.

How is this soil like the human heart? Some people get very excited about the good news of God’s love. They may appear to become very devoted believers. However, for many people they have not allowed God’s message to take firm root in their hearts. Their beliefs are shallow and not at all developed.

When the harsh reality of life strikes, when there is temptation and trial, their faith cannot withstand it all. They are swept away by the problems they must confront.

If we will be strong in our faith we must prepare our hearts to receive God’s message of love. We must allow the time for our faith to grow strong. We must make our faith a deep part of who we are and how we behave. Then we can have strong faith in God’s grace and we can remain faithful even in the hardest of circumstances.

DAILY CHALLENGE: How can your faith grow deep and strong?