LIVING WATERS
For the proclamation of the Gospel and the edification of the Body of Christ
The Land that Drinks the Rain
What fruit are we producing for God? It is necessary to be attentive, and not to be that land which produces thorns and thistles.
Gonzalo Sepúlveda
Reading: Hebrews 6:7-8, Psalm 65:9-13, Matthew 13:23.
The verses we have read speak of two types of land: one produces good grain, and the other produces thorns or thistles. Dear brothers and sisters, which of these two land types describes your heart?
Without Christ, we are all sterile land, we are like a desert. But blessed is the Lord, who said the desert would flourish. He causes this to be completed in us from the moment we pass from death to life in Christ.
God's Plow
The land was cursed through Adam (Genesis 3:17-18), produced only thorns and thistles for a long time. But the Lord in his kindness continued working on it, passing his plow over the land time and again. Any expert farmer will allow his plow to penetrate deep as necessary, until the roots and stones that hinder the growth of the good seed are pulled out.
What is the plow? It is the Lord's discipline for our failures, our bitter moments. Through these experiences the Lord softens the land, (which is our heart) by means of successive blows, one after another. When the plow passes over, it hurts, It is painful. When there are many trials in the family, in the work place or by means of an illness. The fact is, the Lord is working on us, his children, because he wants us to be as the good land.
The Lord said to Adam: "Cursed is the ground because of you...it will produce thorns and thistles for you." Without even sowing, the thorns come up by themselves. One has only to neglect a field and it will fill up with brambles and thistles. In fact, that also happens within our heart if it is not cultivated, watered and sowed with good seed. The thistles will sprout alone if we neglect our field, by not storing up the blessed Word of Christ.
One has only to stop going to church meetings, neglect reading the Scriptures, have less fellowship with brothers and sisters, and the world will begin to sow its own weeds. Then arrogance, lasciviousness, carnality, jealousies, angers and fighting will return. The one that sows to please the flesh will harvest corruption from the flesh. This is the Scriptures' warning in (Galatians 6:7-8).
Which will we choose? What will happen to our land? What will happen to our field? May the Lord continue to pass the plow over us, so the weeds don't grow. But above all, may He cultivate us so the thorns don't grow. Why do they appear so often in the Scriptures? In Genesis the thorns appeared. And in Hebrews chapter 6, it also says there is a land that produces good grass, but there is another that produces thorns and thistles. What are these thorns?
Somebody might claim, "Nobody visits me. Why does it seem like the brothers and sisters draw away from me?" Could it be because thorns have grown in your heart, and it is not easy to come close to you, brother? Others may fear when coming close to you, they will receive a stern word or a sour criticism and will leave wounded. Nobody embraces thorns, because they scratch.
Christ, The Good Seed
Dear brothers and sisters, let the good grain grow. Who or what is the good wheat? The Lord Jesus is the grain of wheat (John 12:24). I want to meet with Christ in you, and I want you to meet with Christ in me! This is the good seed that is sowed in us now: the powerful and blessed life of the Lord that doesn't harm! If I meet with Christ in you, we have communion. Blessed is the name of the Lord!
Thanks be to God He sends his rain upon us. Brother, sister, would your heart not dry up? We came to the river of God. How good it is when we come before the throne of God, because there is the river that flows from there. From Calvary a river also flows, because of the Lord's wounded side from which blood and water poured down. Christ's blood is effective, because it cleansed us from sin so that no sin remains in our lives. Christ's blood comes, the weeds are taken out and we are clean. Blessed is the name of the Lord!
Blessed is the Spirit of the Lord that brings the good word that soaks us and refreshes us time and again, to remind us that we are not common people in this world. We are God's work! He is working with his plow, eradicating the weeds in our soul, and is planting the good seed which is Christ's life in us.
How beautiful it is when the good seed begins to sprout, when you begin to see some of Christ's patience, meekness and tenderness, some of our Lord's blessed character.
May We Be That Good Land
We are a land that has often drunk the rain that falls on us. You and I may be in danger, because we are a land that often drinks the water. Let us remember that to the one who has been given more, more will be demanded. Therefore, may weeds not be found in us, rather the good fruit, from the good olive tree that is Christ in us.
Are you drinking the Lord's rain many times every week? If so, then what fruit is your land producing? After hearing so many times the blessed Word from the Lord, are there still jealousies, do you envy, are the fruits of the flesh still present? This is not right, brothers and sisters; we are that land that often drinks the rain that falls on us. May the Lord allow this word to be completed, that "profitable grass " would be produced and that we would receive God's blessing.
We are God's fellow workers and God's field (1 Corinthians 3:6-9). The Lord wants there to be profitable grass so that when the flocks return, as it says in Psalm 65:13, they will find nourishing grass in which to graze. May we produce much good pasture, so that the hungry flocks may come and meet with Christ among us, because he is the true food, the true bread.
May the Lord allow each one of us to be good land and may the Lord continue working in our hearts. Thanks be to the Lord for each blow and for each trial. It is God's plow that penetrates deeply, removing all roots of bitterness, so the good seed watered by the Lord's Spirit may sprout, and more of Christ be formed in us! Blessed be the name of the Lord! Oh, dear brothers and sisters, this is the true fruit and the true food.
"But land that produces thorns and thistles is worthless..." Both lands receive the seed and the water. In one there is fruit, and in the other there are thorns.
Our heart is tremendously productive. If we are not sowing for the Spirit, we are sowing for the flesh. If we are not reproducing the Lord's character, life and beautiful works, we will become negligent and soon the other seed will begin to sprout, as the world is throwing its seeds upon us everyday.
Dear brothers and sisters, may the good seed alone, that is Christ, grow in us, so that when the Lord comes or when the day arrives to present ourselves before him, let us be not embarrassed, but rather let this psalm be completed in us: "He who goes out weeping, carrying seed to sow will return with songs of joy carrying sheaves with him." (Psalms 126:6)
Thank you, Lord! Continue working in our hearts; we want to be good land, without stones, or thorns that drown your Word. We thank you because we were in a desert but your plow passed deep into us, the land was hurt, but one day your good seed fell upon us. Thank you, Father, for giving us your Son. Thank you because He is being formed in our hearts. May your word continue watering us. Amen.