In Matthew 13 Jesus told the parable of the sower. The sower scattered seeds across his property. Some seeds fell on a footpath, but birds are them. Some fell on shallow soil. Those seeds sprouted quickly, but their roots were shallow and when it got hot, they died because their roots weren’t deep. Other seeds fell among the thorns. Those sprouted and grew, but were choked out by the thorns. Then some fell on fertile soil. Those sprouted, grew and produced a harvest. Jesus explained that each of these represents people’s hearts and how they respond to God’s Word. Some hear and don’t understand it (footpath). Some hear it, receive it and then fall away at the first sign of trouble (shallow soil). Some hear it and receive it, but it’s choked out by the worries of this life (thorns). Some hear it, receive it and produce fruits of the Spirit (fertile).
In Acts 13-14 Paul planted churches in the region of Galatia. It was a modern area with a mix of cultures and religions. The people quickly received the Word of God, but soon after Paul continued his journey, others came in to corrupt the seeds that he had planted. At the beginning of his letter, he quickly addresses it by saying, “I am shocked that you are turning away so soon from God, who called you to himself through the loving mercy of Christ” (NLT). They were struggling to live in a culture with shallow roots. Paul didn’t want them to wither at the first sign of heat. He reestablished who they were in Christ through the next few chapters and finally encouraged them to live Spirit led lives that produce love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control.
Colossians 2:7 says, “Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.” We live in an age that is very much like the Galatian culture. There’s pressures to conform to this world’s standards instead of God’s. The culture compels us to compromise what we’ve been taught, but we must resist and not change the Gospel because it’s convenient. We must let our roots grow deep in Him. Our hearts must become and remain fertile soil for the Holy Spirit to work in our lives. Only then will His Word become fully developed in our life and produce the fruits He calls us to produce.
Photo by Hubert Buratynski on Unsplash
Devotions by Chris Hendrix 