The Cultivated Mind

I love the parable of the sower. Yeshua often used agricultural analogies to bring to light spiritual principles. We learn from this parable that God sows his word like seed in the world. His purpose in sowing the word is that it might bring forth abundance in people's lives. We are likened unto the ground in the parable. Some people hear the word of God, but don't understand it at all. They are pictured as the ground by the side of the road. The seed falls on it, but the birds come quickly and take the seed away. Maybe these are those who are not interested or maybe they don't believe in God, the bible doesn't say. What it does say is that the evil one (HaSatan) immediately takes it away so that it has no chance to make a difference in that one's life. 

Some are compared to rocky ground. This is ground that may quickly receive a seed, per chance, and bring forth a small plant. I've seen impatiens grow in some pretty rocky soil, but they have no opportunity to reach their full potential. This represents people that eagerly receive the word, but have no depth within their hearts that allows the word to get down deep, where it can grow.

Others are compared to ground that contains thorny weeds. These weeds, the cares of this life, the pursuit of possessions, fame or fortune, choke out the word. These people are too busy pursuing their own agenda to give ear to God's word.

Some, however, are likened unto good ground, cultivated soil that can produce abundant fruit. I was thinking this morning about cultivated soil. The tractor, tiller, shovel or hoe has to break up that ground to prepare it for the seed. The Holy Spirit's job is to prepare the way for God's word. Our hearts and minds need to be cultivated so that, when God's word is planted inside of us, we can accept it and allow it to grow and produce an abundant harvest for the Kingdom. To produce the greatest fruit, we often must be broken, humbled or chastened to prepare us for the growth to come, much like a plant needs pruning to bring forth a greater yield.

The important lesson here is that we are not the ones who produce the fruit. The fruit is produced by the word (seed). We are the ground. The ground does not, of itself, produce fruit. It receives the seed that produces the fruit. Any so-called goodness within us comes from God. We have no goodness within ourselves. We are a receptacle for his word. We must receive that word into cultivated minds and hearts, that it may be able to produce his purpose for our lives.