“The Kernel of Truth” – a commentary article by Linda Letkemann

Say you needed to plant some seed. Have you ever taken a shovel and tried to dig a hole in earth that was rock hard? How about a well-beaten path that has been pounded into a walking surface that was more like cement than dirt? Through the constant flow of people walking on it, it remains tough and yields no growth. To illustrate: Through our Plumbing Business we have had much experience in digging water services. Just the other day one of our guys had to dig 4 feet down through earth that was so hard, it took literally a few days to dig one water main trench for a home. Earth like that definitely presents a sweaty challenge to plant some seed. How about soil that is full of rocks and thorns or weeds? Imagine if you needed to grow life-sustaining food on any of them. I imagine that also would be quite the challenge. Then of course there’s soft, well-tilled soil that is just waiting for seed to be scattered on it that you just know will produce a bountiful harvest from whatever seed you scatter on it.

When Jesus was on Earth, he used common object lessons that everyone could understand, and in Luke 8 and Matthew 13 he said something to the Israelites of his day that we need to be aware of today as well: He likened their hearts, (their spiritual centre) to four types of soil – a hard path, rocky soil, soil with thorns, and good soil, and said that the type of soil our hearts are, determines how we hear. We determine the type of soil our hearts, are. I’ve seen both Christians and non-Christians with hearts embodying all four types of earth, so this can apply to us all. He likened the seed to his word – a message of love any way you slice it – be it the message of salvation, correction, or instruction, God’s word always comes in the form of a seed carrying in it the promise of change. Jesus goes on to explain the challenges the seed is faced with before reaching maturity: Birds snatching it away in its infancy; soil with more rocks than dirt; and soil infused with weeds and thorns.

Through many avenues, God is constantly reaching out to all mankind. God sprinkles his message of love like seed on our hearts, and just like natural laws, seed will grow and produce and bring new life ‘“ that’s what seed does ‘“ providing the right conditions exist for that seed. So too, the word of God will grow in our hearts and produce a harvest, provided our hearts are the right kind of ground.

We can do ourselves a great favour by performing a self-evaluation for our own sakes: What kind of ‘ground’ is the soil of our hearts? Is your heart’s soil a hard path, that when the seed comes and God touches you, you allow it to sit there until it is snatched away, ’so you don’t believe’? (Luke 8:12) I remember a time when my heart was hard. I was a born-again child of God, but I’d hear a wonderful message about what God wanted to give me or do through me, and I didn’t receive it. I just let it sit there, and did nothing with it. After a very short while, it was snatched out of my heart and I distinctly remember thinking cynically: Aw, I don’t buy that – it’s just too good to be true,’ and let it go. My heart was hard and even though the message was meant for me and what God wanted to give me, I let the enemy steal it from me. Of course I didn’t see it that way at the time; I was prideful. Why do people resist good news? Why did I? Probably because it meant I would have to change or surrender something.

Is our heart’s soil full of rocks, so that we receive God’s word with joy, but when testing comes, our commitment fades? We hear a good message and rejoice – yes, I’ll definitely receive that! But the problem is that although we’re happy with the seed, we don’t really want to do the work to help it grow and cultivate it; when the smallest winds of persecution blow or the sun beats down on the tender plant, are we shallow and there’s not enough soil to let the root of the small tender plant get around our apathy and we fall away? (Luke 8:13) If we’re honest with ourselves, I think that most of us have been like this at one time or another, too. I certainly have.

Is our heart’s soil full of thorns or weeds, so that worldly cares choke out what God is saying to us? How many of us have said: I’m just so busy! I don’t have time for church, personal devotions or prayer; maybe later’ ‘ I recently heard a preacher say this: We need to put the first things, first, and put the second things that were first, in their proper place.’ This simple thing will re-prioritize the heart with thorns, and get rid of them!

Finally, is our heart’s soil good, and ready to receive what God is saying to us today, so that we will receive it, water it, nurture it, keep it free from rocks and weeds, and let it grow to benefit us and others? Every day, God is speaking into our lives, and we need to have ears to hear’ it. (Luke 8:8b) Notice that all 4 types of peoples’ hearts, heard the word and responded, but only one ‘retained it and by persevering, produced a crop’ (v15). As Jesus says in verse 18: Therefore, consider carefully how you listen‘!

Perhaps you’ve been trampled on by people and circumstances and your heart has become hard. The good news is that if we recognize that we have a hard heart or a heart full of rocks or thorns, Jesus can soften up that hard ground, remove the rocks and thorns and cultivate a beautiful crop, if we’ll simply open up our heart to receive the gift of what he’s saying to us today: If you’ll listen to me and let me have all of your heart just the way it is, I’ll fix it.’ He will lovingly change us into the garden of his delight’ ..and ours.