Hacked! - Mark Ch.4

Mark 4:14-20 (New Living Translation)

14 The farmer plants seed by taking God’s word to others. 15 The seed that fell on the footpath represents those who hear the message, only to have Satan come at once and take it away. 16 The seed on the rocky soil represents those who hear the message and immediately receive it with joy. 17 But since they don’t have deep roots, they don’t last long. They fall away as soon as they have problems or are persecuted for believing God’s word. 18 The seed that fell among the thorns represents others who hear God’s word, 19 but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the worries of this life, the lure of wealth, and the desire for other things, so no fruit is produced. 20 And the seed that fell on good soil represents those who hear and accept God’s word and produce a harvest of thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted!”

While reading this portion of scripture today, I read the footnotes in my Life Application Bible and it said that while this parable may be talking about four different kinds of people, it may also be talking about the soil of one individual's heart. The different soils representing different areas of an individual's life... it's like compartmentalizing... we receive God's words regarding some things but aren't so quick to receive regarding other areas which we feel are "our own personal' areas. Not good.

I want the soil of my heart to be good... like the bags of fresh soil you buy at the store- rich and soft- ready for the seeds of God's Word to fall into and take root and grow. I give Him permission today to work the soil of my heart- to throw out the stones- to break up areas of hardness- to hack away and loosen it up! To be hacked by the master gardener! =-)

I want to be the "seed that sprouts and grows... first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head" (Mark 4:27-28).