The "Hard Soil" Path

Scripture Reading:
“And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them...When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path.” (Matt 13:4, 19 ESV)

“A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell along the path and was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the air devoured it...The ones along the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved.” (Luke 8:5, 12 ESV)

A Heart of Hard Soil
According to the scriptures above, the first soil was too hard to receive the seed and allow any growth. The seed simply died or became food for the birds. The heart of this person is too hard-hearted to receive the words of the Father. His Father’s words, in essence, fall on deaf ears. The passage almost implies that this person's heart is so beaten down and overrun that Satan immediately snatches the words of the Father so they cannot be heard or received. Even if there is a momentary hearing, there is no understanding or attempt to understand and the words fade away.

Stories Around the Fire
“One of the things that has been really hard for me has been the transition of community throughout my life because I had a great community when I was younger. Then in High School, I was homeschooled, and right before that, we moved. So there was a lot of separation between my friends and I. We stayed in contact for a while but, eventually we just didn’t talk anymore. So one of the things that has been difficult for me in life is to create a new community. Something that I’ve been processing is that I pull away from people because I worry about needing them or loving them and then losing them. It’s something I still struggle to not pull away and make my heart “hard soil” to protect myself. Currently, after finishing college, all of the people I went to college with are leaving. So it’s easy to keep community within my family but, it’s hard for me to branch out and keep friendships alive with people. I’ve always had a hard time with it. It’s been a place in my life where I've been “hard soil” because I know God wants me to reach out to be a friend but, in my mind, I have a hard time not just being like “if they are going to leave, why do I need to reach out to them?”

Calibration:
- Can you relate to Judah’s story? How so?
- What is a time in your life when you have been “hard soil?”
- Do you still struggle with it? If so, what is a step you can take towards having a heart of good soil?