“When no bush of the field was yet in the
land
And no small plant of the field had yet
sprung up
For the Lord God had not caused it to rain
on the land
And there was no man to work the ground.
Genesis 2:5
God created man to
work the ground so that when He caused it to rain the seeds would grow. Tilling the land is preparing the ground for
the seeds. Once they are planted and
begin to grow they need to be tended and cared for until they mature and can be
used as food. Man simply tills and
tends; he does not cause the growth.
Mastering and
having dominion over means preparing and watching over, not lording over. It is serving the growth that is caused by
God; it is serving God by tilling the land, preparing it to receive the seed
Gods gives to be planted.
The parable of the
Sower explains what happens when the soil where the seed is scattered hasn’t
been tilled or tended properly. Seed
will only grow properly in soil that has been tended properly. Some of the soil was trodden down, packed
down into a path. Some of the soil was
mixed with rocks. Some of the soil was
overgrown with thorns and thistles. None
of these soil conditions were able to grow the seeds sown. Only the good soil received the seed and
produced a crop.
Man’s purpose, my
purpose is to till the soil that God created and tend to what grows from the
seed sown in that soil. That is my
stewardship, service, and responsibility to God’s work.
The parable is
speaking of the soil as the condition of one’s heart. As a servant of God I am to watch over the
soil of the heart; my own and the hearts of others. It is my privilege as His servant to till the
soil of hearts so that God’s seed, His Word, can be planted and grow to
maturity. What are ways to do that?
The hindrances to
good soil are a trodden down, hard path, a rocky ground, and thorns overgrowing
the ground. They speak to a hard heart,
a superficial heart that has no root, and a heart overtaken by the cares of the
world and the deceitfulness of riches.
These heart hindrances prevent me and others from going past hearing the
Words of God and truly understanding the Words of God. Understanding comes from trusting, knowledge,
and believing in someone or something.
It means I get it and want to grow more in that understanding and bear
fruit. It is a process and it takes
time. But most importantly it is God’s
Spirit working within me, working within us to produce what was planted.
Tilling the soil
means creating sacred space. It is
important to be a witness and not a hindrance to God’s work within each
heart. As Francis would pray, “Make me
an instrument” not a wall to what God is doing.
QUERIES:
What can I do to
till the soil of my heart so that it will hear and understand
God’s Words?
What can I do for
others to help them till the soil of their hearts so that they will want to
hear and understand God’s Words?
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