The next type of soil is the stony soil. Matthew 13:5 Some fell upon stony places, ... Our gardening lesson continues. Matthew 13:5 Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: ... Rocks make the soil shallow. Therefore the seed, received into the ground will start to germinate, but it has little room to grow and little depth to root itself. Matthew 13:5 Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth: A seed that is sown close to the surface will sprout out of the ground more quickly then a deeply or properly planted seed. Different seeds require different depths to properly grow, but they all need room to take hold. Matthew 13:6 And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. Matthew and Mark are almost identical in this verse. The seed in stony ground withers because the seed was planted in shallow, rocky ground. It could not get its roots deep into the ground. Let’s look at the verse in the gospel of Luke. Luke 8:6 And some fell upon a rock; and as soon as it was sprung up, it withered away, because it lacked moisture. Here we get another gardening tip. The lack of depth is not the complete cause for the failure of this seed growing. It is the lack of moisture and nutrition, which caused it to wither. The roots of the seed must grow down into the deep soil’s moisture to stay alive. The soil at the top is hotter. The moisture evaporates in the sun’s heat. But the deep soil retains its moisture and gives the seed life. Therefore the shallow seed can not survive. Lets look at Jesus’ explanation. Matthew 13.20 But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it; The word is heard and actively received. It is not just received but received with joy. This should be our natural state of mind when it comes to hearing the word of God. Our attitude towards the word will determine our ability to receive it. What is your attitude? The heart of the person representing the stony places had not been fully prepared to receive the word. There is an initial excitement but trouble is ahead. Matthew 13:21 Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended. What happens to us when people or situations challenge our beliefs? Will we take a stand for God’s word or wither in front of opposition? Becoming rooted is essential to our growth. It takes work; reading and praying, to root the word of God deep into our hearts. This will make us fruitful. Proper care of our hearts, ridding ourselves of pride and turning to God in humility will cause the seed of the word to blossom. As the word takes root within our hearts, our believing in God will grow also and we will receive fruit.
Posted on: Fri, 14 Jun 2013 02:36:07 +0000
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