Rocks, Thorns, and Thistles

At our July 6 Board of Directors meeting, our treasurer, Shannon Zur, mentioned something about online giving that I'm guilty of. The issue? I have not regularly thought about it like I would when Ellen and I wrote out a weekly check and put it in the offering envelope. I've just let it go on as I originally set it up.

Imagine if I did that with other things in life... just start it and let it go. For instance, let's say I tended the garden at my home and all I did was plant the seeds and expect things to work out perfectly with my garden looking just like the pictures on the seed packets. I did no weeding, no clearing of rocks, no watering, no pruning. Obviously whatever would grow would end up looking like a mess.

This weekend's Gospel reading from Matthew 13 is the parable of the sower who sowed seed which ended up in four different types of soil. Only the good, cultivated soil ended up producing a fruitful crop. Jesus' point? According to the creation account in Genesis 1, human beings were created from clay (soil, if you will). The question is, what type of soil are we when it comes to receiving God's Word? If, in fact, there are things in our life that are hindering the Holy Spirit's work in producing His fruit in our lives, are we concerned about that and want the soil of our hearts to be the best it can be for growth?

Because we are sinful human beings, the rocks, thorns and thistles of the cares, concerns, and trials of this life are always going to be there. And so we pray that the Holy Spirit would help us to not only identify those issues that are keeping us from growing in the faith, but also to care enough to want to remove them. If we've ignored things for awhile this may be hard work. But what a gracious God who through Word and Sacrament would enable us to cultivate the soil of our heart that we might know more and more fully each day the wonder and joy of following Jesus and becoming more and more like Him as we await the perfection of life in the Father's House.

And as for that online giving issue... yes, I will address that too. -- Pastor Schmidt