Date Posted: 11/5/2012 1:33:53 AM
Posted By: queenma Membership Level: Bronze Total Points: 20
Perseverance is a necessary virtue for any disciple of Christ, in fact for any authentic human being. Resolutions easily made are often maintained only with tenacity and renewed decision. This St Luke presents clearly in the parable of the sower where Christ compares our hearts to different types of soil in which He sows the seeds of his life giving word. As he plants, he hopes that they will germinate and grow to bear abundant fruit, fruits that will last and this is only possible through perseverance. However, there are always challenges to this endeavor; that is the self, worldly allurements and the Devil.1. The selfAccording to the Evangelist, as the sower was sowing the seeds, some fell on the rock and as it grew up, it withered away because it had no moisture to make it grow. With this analogy, the evangelist is pointing to those of us who receive the word of God with joy but have no root. We believe for a while but when temptations set in, we fall away. In our hearts there are so many rocks and the word cannot penetrate. We only accept the word of God superficially in our lives. When the word of God demands our little self denial or self sacrifice we buck away and only look at things on the side of the self.2. Worldly Allurements“…and some fell among thorns, which grew with it and chocked it…”next to the challenge of selfishness is the enticement from worldly allurements. In most cases, we hear the word of God accept it but as we go on our way, as we go about our daily tasks, we are chocked by the cares, riches and pleasures of life hence our fruits do not mature.Once the seed grows, it is not free from danger; other plants are or can grow in the same soil, cluttering it and stifling out the more important seed, the Word of God. As we strive to serve God and do his will, other things can also fill our time, take over our hearts and cluster our minds. Little by little we let our guard down and there is no room for Gods seed to grow. We leave no time for prayer, no time to help others, no time to learn about our faith. Everything from soap Operas to our favorite hobbies crowds this seed out.Remember an eagle's flight can be impended by large heavy rope round its leg but also by a thin nylon line. Our hearts flight to God can be impended by a big heavy attachment; that is the obvious one but also by small impeccable ones. We must undo all attachments to make ourselves spiritually poor.3. The Devil“…and some fell along the path and was trodden underfoot and the birds of the air devoured it…..” There are those of us who hear the word of God, and then the Devil takes it away from our hearts that we may not believe and be saved. In our spiritual life, it is not only a matter of God’s grace and our response. There is an enemy who spends a lot of time and energies scheming and machinating to weaken our resolutions by creating doubts, spreading confusion just to ensure the word does not penetrate and eventually snatch it out of our souls. God’s grace generates peace and serenity even amid hard sacrifices and self denial. On the other hand the devil produces insecurity and great confusion even amid life’s simplest things. To avoid this we must avoid exposing the word/seed to dangers by avoiding occasions that may expose us to the grip of the devil.Christ describes honest and goodness as the essential qualities of the good soil. Honest in recognizing the word/seed; attention and care and goodness or generosity to whatever makes it grow. The soil is our soul and we have to prepare it by been honest in our Christian way, accepting what Christ says in the Gospel. His words may be words of life but if we don’t take them and apply them into our lives, they cannot give us life. Too easily we read the word and discover how others have to change but we miss the point. The point is that we must discover in it how we have to change our lives.
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