Devotion - Wednesday, January 23

Mark 4.1-20 contains the parable of the soils.  In this parable, Jesus compares the response to the word to a sower who scatters seed upon the ground, but not all the seed takes root and bears grain.

In the parable some seed falls on the path; some on rocky soil; some among thorns.  Only the seed that falls on good soil takes root and produces.

I worry sometimes that when this parable is heard, with its ending about "bear(ing) fruit, thirty-fold and sixty-fold and a hundredfold," that we assume the purpose is for us to achieve something for God.  Surely, something is accomplished for God, each time the word takes hold.  But the fruit which is produced can also be understood as that which is beneficial in our lives.  The word, taking root in us, enables us to endure heartbreak and disappointment; it makes it possible for us to withstand adversity and trials.

Jesus hopes that our hearts will be good soil, so that we will have the confidence of God's love and God's grace even when the concerns of the world attempt to choke us or the evil one tries to snatch hope and promise from us.  This is the thirty-fold or hundredfold production that Jesus wants to see.

When others see our confidence, it is a witness to God's presence in our lives.  But that may be the side-bar.  The true gift of the word taking root in our lives is the assurance that nothing will separate us from the love of God.  When the word takes root in our lives, we can withstand all things and endure all adversity.