He taught them many things by parables, and in his teaching said: “Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain.

Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, some multiplying thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times.” Then Jesus said, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”

Mark 4:4-9, NIV

This is a familiar parable that you have heard all of your life. But now that you are reading in such a purposeful and thorough manner, it is likely different than it was before. Perhaps in the past you were one of us guilty of having the seed sewn in the shallow soil. Jesus later reveals that the seed is the Word of God, and that the soil is the heart. Therefore, the shallow soil represents the shallow heart. While most know from experience that the seed placed in the shallowest soil will be the one that is the first to sprout, experience also reveals that the first to sprout does so because it did not root properly. And we all know that without deep roots, be it people or plants, these will also be the quickest to wither at the first sign of inclement weather.

The reason that you are reading and studying the Word is because a shallow heart is no longer acceptable. Perhaps when we were younger, "good enough" was good enough, but no more. The mature and faithful heart realizes that there is no place in God's kingdom for the shallow. They cannot stand the storms that will come their way. This is why we are reading. We are sinking deep roots so that the Word of God may be so firmly implanted within our hearts that no storm can shake us.

At the end of this short parable, Jesus said, "whoever has ears to hear, let them hear." Are we listening?

Todays reading is Colossians, I Thessalonians, and the 1st chapter of II Thessalonians. Read them carefully and allow their message to sink deep into your heart. If you will do this, this seed of the Word will sink roots deep enough to sustain you unto life eternal!