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I have been joyfully turning the soil in my fruit and vegetable garden this summer. Among other things, I have transplanted into tidy rows of rich earth, previously stray, non-thriving strawberry plants which I discovered scattered about from the efforts of a previous gardener of this property. For some time, these plants have been resting on a rocky landscape with a minuscule splattering of soil covering them. Consequently, these struggling plants have wispy roots. It was easy to uproot my collection of vulnerable and immature strawberry plants.

As I re-planted my strawberries in deeper soil, I was reminded of Jesus and His parable of the sower and the seed. This teaching outlines what distinctly happens to the seed that falls upon four different soil conditions, a picture of various outcomes for people who have heard the Word of God. (Hard ground, stony ground, thorny ground, and good soil- Matthew 13:1-23, Mark 4:1-20, Luke 8:4-15)

I discovered my neglected and fragile strawberry plants in the second type of soil that the Bible mentions, the stony ground. The person in Jesus’ parable planted on this type of soil is like my little plants. They begin to grow but can’t grow deep roots and wither in the sun. The stony-ground person shows interest and awareness in the Gospel, yet their heart isn’t entirely convinced. This person’s faith is not strong enough to survive when trouble comes.

I’m deeply burdened over a sister sojourner that I know and love dearly.

I recall the phone conversation where my surprised and grateful heart leaped over this sister’s testimony that she had heard and received with great joy the hope-filled assurance of salvation through believing in Jesus. She was whole-heartedly embracing the promises of the Word of God. Amazed, I listened to her proclaim the work of Jesus on the cross, the forgiveness of her sins, and the confession of her heart that He had covered her with a very real cloaking of His presence. Glory to God most high!

In the years since that phone call, this precious one has been generously tested and significantly stretched. Slowly, since she professed faith and now not so subtly, she appears to have drifted far from the solid shore of faith in Christ into dark waters where bitterness now characterizes her. She adamantly rejects spiritual encouragement and skeptically ignores any offerings of kindness as provocations.

I read Jesus’ words about the second type of soil again. I fear what may be a lack of root in my friend’s spiritual life. “But these have no root; they believe for a while, and in time of testing fall away.” (Luke 8:13)
My heart cries to the Lord as I pray for this hardened, angry, and hurting friend.

If your heart is heavy with comparative grief over a straying loved one, perhaps you’ll join me in praying even this moment over their life to our merciful God whose love is steadfast:

Father, replant the roots of this dear one’s life deep in the soil of your love. Nourish them in the sacred, holy ground of the truth of your Word where, by your Spirit, they can grow in your likeness and walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which I trust, you have called them.

“Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.” Colossians 2:6-7