Luke 8:7-8

Luke 8:7-8

“And some fell in the middle of thorns, and the thorns that were being grown with them choked them.  And some fell into the good earth and after being brought forth it made fruit a hundredfold.”  While saying these things, He called out, “The one who has an ear with which to hear, hear!”

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

Today we meet the third type of soil.  Here are the thorns.  Here are the distractions in life that choke out the Word.  Here is the busyness of life that doesn’t give time for true and genuine growth.  This is truly the danger of life.  We like to be busy, be doing things, and be entertained.  But so often, God is found in the silence of life.  So often God is found in the stillness of life.  Unfortunately, sometimes the way that we structure our life makes it so easy for God to get choked out.

When has your life been such that there was little or no room for God?  How did you arrive at such a point?  How do you get out of such a place?

Second Thought:

Finally, we meet the seed that falls upon the good ground.  It is often called the good seed.  But remember, all the seed is good!  It is the ground that makes it possible for the seed to do what it does.  Here the seed falls on fertile ground.  Here the seed can produce a harvest.  Here a single seed can reproduce itself.  Here a single seed can bring forth many others that are honest imitations of it.  That is how God works in us.  His Word comes within us and he produces within us something that is reproducible.

How has God brought about something reproducible in you?  How has God’s Word been instrumental in that?

Third Thought:

Jesus’ concluding phrase is a curious mixture.  In the Greek, it is five words long.  The second to last word is the infinitive, “to hear.”  The last word is the imperative command, “hear!”  Jesus is making a very clear point.  We need to listen.  We need to actually hear.  How can we follow His ways if we aren’t willing to listen?  How can we live out our calling if we don’t listen?  How can we honestly do anything well if we don’t hear?

Do you listen?  Are you a listener first?  How do you practice hearing from God in your life?

Passage for Tomorrow: Luke 8:9-10