Who Are You Letting God Be to You, Now, and Tomorrow?
Christmas Spirit is all around us! Carols on the radio; activities including beautiful light shows; Santa is inviting kids to share their wishes for Christmas; churches are welcoming us to celebrate the coming of the Christ Child surrounded by heartfelt messages of God’s love and beautiful songs of worship. We, for this moment, are blessed to be surrounded by authentic Christmas cheer!
But once January 1 comes, we put away the trees and decorations. And, despite our best intentions, we often pack up our Christmas cheer as well. The desire to keep Jesus at the center can end up in the closet with the ornaments.
Why does this happen? And how can we change it?
A few days ago, I read the parable of the Sower in Matthew chapter 13 and I think it addresses those questions.
Jesus speaks of a farmer who is sowing seed. The seed falls on four different kinds of soil: hard-packed ground, rocky soil, soil that is filled with thorns, and fertile soil. Jesus goes on to explain that the seed is the Word of God, and the soil represents the condition of our hearts.
While it may be a bit simplistic, here is how I would describe the heart conditions represented by the four soil types.
· Hard heart – basically resistant to the message of Jesus.
· Rocky soil – a lack of spiritual depth, often the result of issues we don’t want to face.
· Thorny soil – the overly busy or distracted life, caused by many factors.
During the Christmas season, the focus of our culture helps us overcome the natural condition of our hearts. We take steps towards putting Jesus at the center and becoming that good soil. But, when the new year rolls around, life goes back to normal, and we soon find ourselves back where we were.
How can we change? We make a conscious decision to improve our heart soil—to soften what is hard, go after spiritual depth, and declutter our lives so we can have greater focus.
The parable is here for us, not only at Christmas but throughout the year! If you are a disciple of Jesus today, these words are for you.
Invite Jesus to guide you through its meaning for your life today. The four conditions of soil that Jesus names are potential conditions of our lives, helping us understand why we are or aren’t yielding what we desire as we walk with Jesus.
If you’re ready to go on this journey and go deeper with Jesus, I invite you to consider participating in The Spiritual Formation Institute in 2023, offered by the Renewing Life Center. If you go to spiritualformationinstitute.com and click on the video one of the faculty will explain the content of the Institute. Additional information is available if you go to Retreat Experience on the menu. The Institute is an opportunity for you to go deeper with God, set in a beautiful mountain experience at Mt. Charleston.
The Institute closes its registration on December 31st.
If you find you want to speak with someone to find out more, please call the Renewing Life Center at 702-434-7290 and they will direct you.
MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A CHRIST BLESSED NEW YEAR!
Patricia Meye, M.Div., D.Min.