The Pure Heart of God
Bible Verses: Mark 4: 2-9 2 He taught them many things by parables, and in his teaching said: 3 “Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, some multiplying thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times.” 9 Then Jesus said, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”
Tolstoy wrote: "Where there is shadow, there must be light." Darkness, such as shadow, is also an evidence of light. We must remember that there is light behind darkness when our lives often have a frustrating time of darkness. There are times when God will let us pass through the dark tunnel of suffering to fully show His light. The sufferings and crises in our lives are the blessings and opportunities of God in disguise.
With a change of heart through the help of the Holy Spirit, we start to discover that life's suffering is indeed a blessing. It is very important to manage our hearts and minds amid the chaos of life. It is because through this, we can fully respond to the guidance of the Holy Spirit and renew our minds.
The text of today's Scripture speaks of the parable of the sower and the importance of our state of mind. First of all, let's share the background, content, and interpretation of this parable. If you look at the text, there are sowers and different types of soils. This parable is what Jesus taught many people, including his disciples. Often in the Bible, Jesus reveals spiritual truths through parables and vivid illustrations. It helps people understand the Gospel. The seed that appears in the text means the word of God. And the sower speaks of Jesus and the evangelists. The soil is the state of mind of those who hear it. Today's Bible verses begin with the premise that God's Word, the Gospel, and Jesus, the Sower, are the everlasting truth. Whether the gospel as the truth is realized fruitfully in life depends on the conditions of the hearts of the listeners.
Let us look at the specifics of the parable about the grounds where the seeds are planted. Four different types of soil appear in the text.
First type of ground is the path. Let's see verses 3-4: “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.
A path is a place next to a field where people walk on. It is a hard ground where people trample on it, so the seeds cannot be planted deeply. Eventually, the birds come and eat the seeds. Look at verse 15 (Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them). It explains that the seed eaten by the bird along the path symbolizes Satan taking away the Words that are not deep rooted.
The hard soil along the path means the state of the heart that is overly stained with the world. It's a state where our hearts are hardened with the ways and the values of the world. It is a state where the word of God cannot enter. We need to receive a touch of the Holy Spirit through the Word and prayer, which will gradually soften our hearts. If our hearts are like hard soil along the path, we should dwell in the presence of the Holy Spirit through the restoration of the Holy Sunday and the Gospel.
Second type of ground in the parable is a rocky place. Let's see verses 5-6: 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.
This allows seeds to enter the ground a little longer than the hard path. But the seeds cannot grow deep roots in the rocky places. Verses 16-17 (Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away) say that you receive the word of God with joy at first, but soon it vanishes. This symbolizes the Christians who have received and followed the Word faithfully abandon their faith when they encounter hardships in life. This is often seen in overly emotional or too rational beliefs. We receive the Word with passion and try to live our faith, but our emotions or reasons often come before the Word. Our faith needs to be centered on God's Word, firm and unshakable.
Third type of ground is thorny. Let's look at verse 7: Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain.
Mark 4: 18-19 (Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful) explains that worldly concerns, worries, temptations of wealth, or other greed hinder the growth of faith. It means that our heart moves in a direction other than God when we are consumed by the worries and greed of the world. We must manage and govern the things of the world, such as the riches, relationships, and positions in God's way. This will lead us to experience the unwavering fruits of growth and maturity in God's way.
The last fourth type of ground is good soil. Let's look at verse 8: Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, some multiplying thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times.
At that time, in the Palestinian region where this parable was written, it was regarded as a good harvest producing a crop about 10 times. However, today's text refers to 30, some 60, some 100 times. It clearly shows that the fruitfulness of our faith depends on the state of our mind. This good soil enables the seed to be planted at the right depth, well rooted and nourished to lead a healthy life. This is different from the states of our mind as hard as paths, as rocky to be swayed by emotions and reasons, or as thorny by the temptations of the world. It is a balanced state of mind in which the word of God is absorbed through the tender and pure heart. This difference in mind brings out a 100 times more fruits. Those that have pure heart with deeply rooted Words will understand the mystery of God’s kingdom. You must have a pure heart grown in good soil with the help of the Holy Spirit.
Let me discuss how we can apply the parable in our lives. The first is that the mystery of God’s kingdom is proclaimed equally to all, but only the God’s chosen people are blessed to hear, see and understand it. Even if the same words are spoken, the word of truth is absorbed only by God's chosen people. That is the grace and blessing of God for His people. The second is that we should not be shaken by the things that hinder fruitfulness - the wicked spirit, Satan, suffering, worldly anxiety, temptation and greed - when we listen to God's Word. We should be renewed by prayer and the fullness of the Holy Spirit. As we clean the filthy house, we should clean our minds filled with impurities and bustles of the world by returning to the basics. Finally, we should ask for the help of the Holy Spirit to have a pure heart in order to lead a blessed fruitful life. The fullness of the Holy Spirit will help putting orders in chaotic situations we encounter in life. In order to welcome God's coming to us and to hear his voice clearly, we must strive for a pure heart and spiritual renewal.
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