Hungry Hearts
“Your words came and I ate them;
they were my joy and my heart’s delight.”
Jeremiah 15:16 (NIV)
Several years ago, I helped a friend plant a small flower garden in an area of recently tilled soil at the back of our church grounds. We were hoping to grow some garden flowers for use in some of our summer Flower Guild arrangements. Over the last twenty years I’ve learned a lot about flower arranging through our Guild, but gardening was a new experience for me, and I was a little anxious.
Following my friend’s direction, I opened a zinnia envelope and was shocked to see dozens of tiny seeds in the packet. Dropping to my knees, I placed the first two seeds into the recently tilled soil. Suddenly a familiar verse came to mind: “A farmer went out to sow his seed.” (Luke 8:5)
I then moved about six inches down the row and dropped two more seeds into the dirt. More sowing, reaping, harvest, and seed verses came to my mind and heart:
I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. (1 Corinthians 3:6)
A man reaps what he sows. (Galatians 6:7)
Sow righteousness for yourselves, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your unplowed ground; (Hosea 10:12)
Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you. (Matthew 17:20) I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you. (Matthew 17:20)
Some of our recently tilled ground was very hard while other areas were rocky. Several times while planting seeds, some dried holly leaves pricked my fingers and I cried, “Ouch!” Each encounter reminded me of one of Jesus’ most famous parables. The Parable of the Sower is a metaphor for the condition of our hearts. The seed is the Word of God and the sower is the one who teaches or preaches the Word of God.
The seed along the hard path represent stubborn hard hearts that refuse to listen to the Word of God.
The seed among the rocks represent shallow hearts who initially hear God’s Word but quickly fall away during trials.
The seed among the thorns are strangled hearts that initially appear to have roots, but their roots are ultimately choked out by the worries of life and the deceitfulness of riches.
The seed in good soil are sincere hearts that not only receive God's Word but also retain and reproduce it in their lives.
Everyone gathered around Jesus heard God’s Word when he told the parable, but only those with sincere hearts received it and became rooted, fruited, and changed. Jesus’ Kingdom of God lesson was this: The fate of the seed is dependent on the condition of the soil. Every time we come to God’s Word, the same is true for us. The fate of the seed of God’s Word is dependent on the condition of our hearts.
Last weekend I was privileged to lead a With My Whole Heart women’s retreat in Sutton, Nebraska. Using Psalm 119, the longest chapter in the Bible, we looked at making our hearts a home for God’s Word and the importance of having soft, tender hearts to receive and reproduce God’s Word in our lives. Author Paige Brown wisely says, “There is no body health apart from heart health. If our heart is wrong, nothing else can be right!” Dr. Henry Brandt agrees writing, “The heart of the problem is the problem of the heart!” The women in Sutton demonstrated hungry hearts when they instructed me to forget the schedule and just keep teaching and answering questions!
The Lord of the Harvest promises that his Word won’t return empty without accomplishing his purposes. (Isaiah 55:10-11) The problem is never the goodness of God’s seed, but the condition of my heart. The fate of the seed is always determined by the condition of the soil.
So, how’s your heart? Are you hungry for God’s Word? Do you have a hard heart that rejects God’s Word? Or perhaps a shallow heart that initially hears, but never retains it? Many of us have strangled hearts that are so crowded with worries, anxieties, and cares that there is no room for roots or fruit. God’s desire is that we would have soft, hungry hearts that hear and heed his Word; produce deep roots; and bear much fruit.
“This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.” (John 15:8)