Listen, see, understand.
By grace, God reveals secrets.
Knowledge multiplies.
Haiku Inspired by Matthew 13:11-13
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Jesus is relaxing by a lake when a crowd gathers around Him. He gets into a boat, pushes it into the water, and from the boat, begins teaching the crowd. Here’s what He sees and knows when He looks at the faces on the shore: Very few will listen and understand. Very few will ‘see’ the truth of His words and apply them to their lives. Many in the crowd are interested in the man who does miracles, but very few want the life of follower. The parable Jesus teaches that day from the boat is a story about a sower, soil, and seeds.
Let’s start with the personal part of this story: the soil of your heart. It’s not unclear in this parable that the desired heart soil is the good soil, the fruitful soil, the soil that yields and gives 100 times, 60 times, or 30 times what was planted.
Sounds good, right? I want a heart of rich soil. You probably do, too.
Here’s what we miss in this story: our role is very, very small. The richness of my heart soil is not a result of my hard work. Fruit is not produced by my effort. I have no control over seeds—where they all fall, how many take root, how fast they grow, the abundance of the harvest. The work of the Spirit is not my responsibility.
My role in cultivating heart conditions that grow God’s goodness is readiness and responsiveness. Readiness means I bring my heart before the Lord every day, with the expectation He wants to do something in me. I allow Him to dig and soften, to work my inner ground as He sees fit. Responsiveness means I surrender to the process—even when it’s uncomfortable. When truth is planted, I allow it to take root. I receive the grace and love showered on me. I depend on His Spirit for growth. I trust Him for frutifulness. I wait patiently for Him to produce the goodness.
The message of our culture is that all we have, know, do, acquire, accumulate, accomplish, grow, enjoy, build, create, or produce is a result of our energy and effort. Our hustle. Our feverish dedication. Maybe God helped, but maybe we didn’t need Him all that much.
The day Jesus taught a crowd from a boat in the middle of a lake, the cutural message wasn’t any different. The Good News Jesus shared was the message of grace, not good works. Human need, not human greatness. Readiness rather than results, reponsiveness rather than resoluteness. Surrender.
Reader, what will you do with this message? Will you accept the work of readiness and responsiveness? Will you bring your heart before the Lord today and trust Him with it? Will you do the same tomorrow? Every day? Surrender to the work of the Spirit and His seeds of truth will grow.
Lord, give us ears to hear, eyes to see, and the humility to accept Your truth.
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Such a wonderful explanation of the process we enter into when we pursue the Lord! It’s all about surrender and the benefits that come from it. Thank you for your words. So good!