Matthew 13:1-13 1The same day went Jesus out of the house, and sat by the sea side. 2And great multitudes were gathered together unto him, so that he went into a ship, and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore. 3And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow; 4And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up: 5Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth: 6And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. 7And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them: 8But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold.
While on a ladies retreat I took a walk around a pond that was in front of the cabin we stayed at. As I was walking around the pond I began to notice several things around me. The first thing I noticed were geese in the middle of the pond, then the second was a hole in the pond where the water that was melting was running off into this hole. The final thing I noticed was amazing yet puzzling at the same time. In front of me was this massive pine tree that was uprooted. As I began to look around I noticed that none of the other trees were uprooted, they were firmly planted in the ground. Now to look at the roots of this tree you could see the soil still sticking to the roots. The soil looked rich to the naked eye, so I began to ask out loud why had this tree fallen, out of all the other trees why this one?
I stood still and waited for an answer. (just a side note sometimes we ask for an answer but are too impatient to wait for it) I stood there looking at the roots of the tree and began to notice that they were not broken, just simply pulled out of the ground. Now I am not an expert at this type of thing but what I believe happened was a strong gust of wind came by and shook this tree to its foundation, and because the roots weren't firmly planted they became loosed causing the tree to fall to the ground. A tree will not fall if its roots are firmly planted. A tree will not fall if the soil in which it is planted is giving it the proper nutrients it needs to survive.
Matthew 7:25-27 25The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash."
Psalm 19:4 May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.
This is where I started to think how as Christians we can be like this tree. If we are not careful with what we are planted in we to can become uprooted. We need to have our roots firmly planted in the word of God.. Upon His foundation..He is our Rock. Without having a proper foundation any trial or temptation that comes our way will uproot us. When we are tempted we are to use the word of God to ward off the temptation, BUT if we are not firmly planted in the word of God how are we to tell the devil he is a liar? How are we supposed to tell the mountain that is in our way to move if we don't know the proper scripture to back us up when we tell it to move? My bible states that His word will not return void.
Isaiah 55:11 So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.
I mentioned in the beginning about seeing 2 geese on the water. When I looked out onto the pond I saw two geese, one was looking for food in the water and the other was standing guard. So as I began to observe them for a few moments I began to think how we are the goose that is constantly looking for food, looking to be fed. Then we have the goose who is standing guard while the other one is being fed. The goose that is standing guard is very alert to its surroundings, looking left and right turning around every so often, making sure no enemies are in the area. If you have ever observed geese you will notice that they are “family” oriented. You will never find one by itself, they fly in flocks and they protect there young as well as their mate. Look at the goose that is looking to be fed with its head submerged in the water feeding on the plant life as the Christian who is constantly in the word of God feeding on every word. . Then look at the goose that is standing guard ready to squawk if an enemy approaches as God watching over us warning us when trouble is on the way. The goose is putting his life in danger to save the goose who is feeding, Just as Jesus put. His life on the cross to save us.
Now to go to the hole in the pond.. To some who look at this it is just a hole but to me it said something more. Picture God standing on an ice covered pond and living water was flowing from him and into this hole in the ice. Then across the pond from the hole is a Christian who is feeding on the word of God. The hole that the water is pouring into is not getting full nor is it overflowing. As long as Christians feed on the word of God there will be people to feed the excess of what we received to.
Sharing is Caring.. a good old statement that we tell kids day in and day out. But how are we applying that statement to our walk? If we receive a message at church are we running and telling our friends about it or are we keeping it to ourselves? On a personal note I know I have received a message at church and could not wait to tell someone, so I would go home and tell my mother (who does not go to church) about what happened in church. As politely as she can she looks at me and smiles and says thats nice. Does that make me want to stop running home and tell her what happened no, it makes me want to do it more. See we fail to realize that what goes on in the spiritual is far more than what goes on in the natural. The word that you spoke in someones life may not reach them at that moment but it is in their subconscious and I guarantee you when they see or hear something that will remind them of what you said the word that you spoke to them will come back. Do not be greedy and eat all you can and not bring leftovers home for your friends and family. God does not want us to be greedy he wants us to share the Good News. He wants us to tell everyone we come in contact with about what He has done and what He has yet to do. I challenge you that when you receive a message at church or bible study to go tell someone. Do not be afraid of what they will say but be confident in knowing that His word will not return void. Do not be like the tree and become uprooted because you are not firmly planted but become like the goose who is feeding and feed on the word of God.
