Fallow hearts

The seed which fell among the thorns, these are the ones who have heard, and as they go on their way they are choked with worries and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to maturity. (Luke 8:14)

The sower is God, the seed is the Word of God, the earth is the heart of man. When God sows His Word, some seeds fall into a ground with thorns. The earth with thorns is an unprocessed earth that has not been cared for a long time: fallow, wild soil.

The Lord Jesus tells His disciples that there are people whose hearts are like fallow ground. Initially, these people start well in their walk with God. At first, the soil of their hearts is processed and the Word of God takes root in them, gives shoots and starts to grow, but at some point, all kinds of wild weeds and thorns are starting to grow up from the same ground, and these people do not rip them out in time. They grow and stifle the crops. Jesus compares the thorns with the worries, riches and pleasures of life.

At first, these people sought God’s kingdom and righteousness, obeyed the Savior’s command: not to worry as pagans thinking about what to eat or what to wear. God fulfilled all their needs, and things went well until God tested their faith, and they began to worry. They began to worry about a place to live and went to work abroad, abandoning the work of God. They began to worry about the studies of their children, and they engaged with another job, taking up their free time.

Looking around how all men seek to get rich, including some “brothers” in the church, these people were deceived with love of money and forgot the Savior’s words that said,

No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth. (Mathew 6:24)

They did not even remember the apostle Paul’s warning who said,

For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. But flee from these things, you man of God, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance and gentleness. (1 Timothy 6:10-11)

The pleasures of this life have risen above the pleasure of “looking intently at the perfect law” and abiding by it. When they have one free hour, they do not hurry to open the Word of God to treasure it in their hearts in order to not sin against God, but open their Facebook profile and consume their precious time on things of nothingness and bad jokes .

All this happens because after they heard the Word, they go their way. They see their personal interests. They relax from the daily discipline of an authentic Christian, and thus their fruit does not get ripe. They become some unfruitful branches, useless, losers, separated from Christ.

I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned. (John 15:5-6)

Has the earth of your heart become a thorny land, and did you let the Word sown into you be crushed by the worries, riches and pleasures of this life? You bear responsibility for the quality of your heart’s soil. If you have come to this state, repent now as long as there is hope,

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)

From now on keep the Word of God in a good and clean soil, to be able to bear fruit with perseverance.

But the seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word in an honest and good heart, and hold it fast, and bear fruit with perseverance. (Luke 8:15)

Read this article in Romanian.

Translated by Liza Birladeanu.