JOHN SHIRK – From Hosea 10:12.

“Sow for yourselves righteousness, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your unplowed ground; for it is time to seek the LORD, until he comes and showers righteousness on you.”

Unattended soil is unproductive dirt. It just lays there, not producing anything that can be turned into food. This kind of soil is compared to the heart that is resistant to the Gospel. However, breaking up the unplowed ground of our heart is comparable to making our heart tender to God. We become receptive to the word of the Lord, and that word becomes a seed that springs forth a productive crop that leads to eternal life. The seed of God’s Word also produces the righteousness of Christ in us as we accept His message of grace by faith.

Choices have outcomes. We cannot expect good fruit to form out of bad seeds. Galatians 6:7 says, “God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.” Seeking the LORD prepares our heart to receive the word of the LORD so that we might be trained in His righteousness and live a productive life.

Planting God’s Word in our heart is a vital sign of a changed life in the Year of Transformation.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com