Journey With Jesus: 31 Days Devotion From the Gospel of MarkSample

How's your heart?

The heart is one of the primary organs in the body. It pumps blood from the head to the toes and ensures the proper circulation of essential nutrients such as oxygen throughout the body.

Without the heart, we cannot function effectively. One reason you can read this now is because your heart is sending oxygen-rich blood to your brain.

Just as the heart is important to our physical well-being, our heart condition towards God’s teachings is crucial to our spiritual health. Mark 4:1-8 is a parable about a farmer sowing seeds on different kinds of ground. The seed represents the Word of God (v14), and the grounds represent the different heart conditions of the listeners.

The first three grounds – the path, rocky places, and thorns – are unsuitable for seed growth. Characteristics of people with such heart conditions include a shallow understanding of the Word, failure to persevere in times of trouble and persecution, and distraction by worries, wealth, and other pleasures. Though they receive God’s Word, they are not able to flourish in the faith.

Finally, we have seed that falls on good soil. The seed grows and produces a crop (v8). Only those who hear, accept, and commit to the Word will have a rooted and fruitful faith (v20).

Jesus shared this parable so that His listeners could reflect on their heart conditions toward the Word and things of God. We may listen to teachings from the Bible during weekend services or go online to hear sermons by powerful preachers. Yet all these won’t matter if we don’t approach the Word of God with the right attitude. Our heart conditions determine how His Word will grow and produce fruit in our lives.

Today, is your heart rejecting God’s Word or responding to it with faith? Know that Jesus loves you and desires for you to turn to Him. How do we turn our hearts into fertile soil for God’s Word to grow and flourish?