When it comes to gardening I have ten thumbs, none of them green. As far as I am concerned, there is only one kind of good soil: the one they use to grow the grapes that make the wine that I sip as I look over my backyard: all wooded, natural, wild, untouched… and a complete admission of landscaping defeat on my part.
Needless to say, I don’t relate much to Jesus’ parable of the sower and the various kinds of soil that his seeds fall on (Luke 8:4). There is the hardened soil where nothing grows, the rocky soil where things grow for a while but cannot survive, the soil full of weeds that crowd out the seedlings, and finally the fertile soil that lets things blossom and bear fruit.
What I do get is that your heart has to be open in order to hear God’s word. I understand that you have to make God’s word a priority in your life that at times needs to be protected and defended. Growing things, from plants to children to relationships to faith, require constant and diligent work. And don’t even think about blaming the seed if things don’t take root and prosper. The seed is just fine, the sower made sure of that. You just worry about the soil you are giving him to work with!
The not so comfortable truth in all of this is the hard and unfaltering work it all requires. And while I am o.k. with my backyard looking like no human hand has ever touched it, I don’t want my soul to look like God has never been there.
Spiritually speaking, I am finally getting off my deck chair and getting my hands dirty: I am taking a lesson on inductive Bible study at my church, and you can now find me underlining my Bible text in every color of the rainbow. Before I read my Bible, now I am studying it. I am taking it apart much like a textbook in college. Who, what, when, why, how, to whom, where, what result, what message - and most importantly: what does it all mean to me? The experts call this process observation - interpretation - application. I am still on Chapter 1, nowhere near expert level, but I am already hooked. Think of it as window cleaning: before I saw outlines, now I am beginning to see details. And what an awesome view it is!
I have said it a thousand times before: know your Bible and study it by heart… little did I know that I was preaching only half the truth! Don’t just learn scripture by heart at the push of a button (or the daily reminder of your Bible Memory app); study the Bible inside and out. Invest some sweat and brain-power to unlock the text, and you will find brand new and initially overlooked or misunderstood verses to commit to memory.
It is a beautiful spring day in Virginia and I am heading out to my deck, Bible in one hand, colored pencils in the other… and who knows, I may go and clean up the yard a little later… much, much later.
Dear Lord,
I never noticed babies until I was pregnant. I never noticed You until I started studying the Bible. Never let me lose the enthusiasm, the awe, the desire, or the love your Word brings to me. Let me be the soil you need to grow your church, Lord. And thank you for Your loving, tender care!
Amen
