— Luke 8:13
My soul, examine thyself this morning by the
light of this text. Thou hast received the word with joy; thy feelings
have been stirred and a lively impression has been made; but, remember,
that to receive the word in the ear is one thing, and to receive Jesus
into thy very soul is quite another; superficial feeling is often joined
to inward hardness of heart, and a lively impression of the word is not
always a lasting one. In the parable, the seed in one case fell upon
ground having a rocky bottom, covered over with a thin layer of earth;
when the seed began to take root, its downward growth was hindered by
the hard stone and therefore it spent its strength in pushing its green
shoot aloft as high as it could, but having no inward moisture derived
from root nourishment, it withered away. Is this my case? Have I been
making a fair show in the flesh without having a corresponding inner
life? Good growth takes place upwards and downwards at the same time. Am
I rooted in sincere fidelity and love to Jesus? If my heart remains
unsoftened and unfertilized by grace, the good seed may germinate for a
season, but it must ultimately wither, for it cannot flourish on a
rocky, unbroken, unsanctified heart. Let me dread a godliness as rapid
in growth and as wanting in endurance as Jonah’s gourd; let me count the
cost of being a follower of Jesus, above all let me feel the energy of
his Holy Spirit, and then I shall possess an abiding and enduring seed
in my soul. If my mind remains as obdurate as it was by nature, the sun
of trial will scorch, and my hard heart will help to cast the heat the
more terribly upon the ill-covered seed, and my religion will soon die,
and my despair will be terrible; therefore, O heavenly Sower, plough me
first, and then cast the truth into me, and let me yield thee a
bounteous harvest.
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