These are the ones on the path where the word is sown.
As soon as they hear, Satan comes at once
and takes away the word sown in them.
Instead of a superficial faith we need one which is sincere, as was the faith that lived in Timothy. For him, the truth was not merely a word which he heard and then forgot. Part of the reason for that was that he was fortunate to grow up in a household of faith were the word could be nurtured and given a privileged position against potential alternatives. The surrounding soil was protective for him as the faith grew up within him.
We too, whether or not we have been raised in the faith, must seek environments in which our growth can be healthy. Much of it will come down to how we ourselves respond when we hear the truth. Instead of merely unraveling interesting religious or philosophical mysteries we need to come to recognize religious truth, as Paul emphasized to Titus. It must be religious truth as contrasted with mere opinion, truth as opposed to our desire to be the authors and self-creators of our own narratives. When we know that it is only in the truth that the hope of eternal life can found found, and in which the grace and peace of the Father and the Son can be experienced, then the truth will not simply sit upon the surface of our hearts where it is vulnerable.
And these are the ones sown on rocky ground who,
when they hear the word, receive it at once with joy.
But they have no roots; they last only for a time.
Then when tribulation or persecution comes because of the word,
they quickly fall away.
We need to put down roots to ensure that the rocks we encounter don't prevent us from getting the nourishment we need. We need more than initial enthusiasm. Initial enthusiasm will eventually dry up. Instead of relying on it we should heed Paul's advice to "stir into flame the gift of God that you have through the imposition of my hands". The initial gift might well result in a burst of enthusiasm. But it can only help us against ongoing tribulation and persecution if we continue to fan it into flames. Then it can help us overcome "a spirit of cowardice" which will otherwise result when we encounter tribulation and persecution. When we don't take the gift for granted, but seek to be ever more open to it, we will find it manifests as "power and love and self-control". We will not need to be ashamed of the Gospel, as our weakness would otherwise tempt us, but will have the "strength that comes from God" to face the trials that will inevitably come.
Those sown among thorns are another sort.
They are the people who hear the word,
but worldly anxiety, the lure of riches,
and the craving for other things intrude and choke the word,
and it bears no fruit.
The thorns of this world remain a threat to us even after we have put down roots and seem somewhat established in our growth. Temptations like worldly anxiety and the lure of riches tempt us to attempt to nourish and sustain ourselves in ways that only God is meant to do. We, the plant, try to take over responsibility for our growth from the gardener. These are not merely unfortunate mistakes but harmful to the disposition of souls that are meant to be receptive to grace. When we insist on relying on ourselves it is only natural that the future will seem fearful, and that we might seek riches to maintain some semblance of control. Instead, we need to learn to rely on the gift of the Spirit, to fan it into flames not just once, but consistently. We are not meant to grow with only the strength that comes from us, which is nothing, but the strength that comes from God, which is more than enough.
But those sown on rich soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it
and bear fruit thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.
The call is simple enough to hear, but requires a response to live. The gift that we received, perhaps even without much thought or gratitude, contains all we need to live lives of power, love, and self-control. If that gift in us is now reduced to mere embers, or if we see it dimming as the winds of circumstance become dire, we need to focus on more consistently stirring it up. That is not to say it is merely a feeling we stoke in ourselves. It is rather a fire that has all the fuel it needs, that is ever ready to burn, if we will simply desire and pray that it do so.
When the Spirit is alive in us we will become as effective and trustworthy for the mission of the Kingdom as the saints. Indeed, the saints, Timothy and Titus and Paul included, will seem more and more to be working with us for that mission, the more that we all share that one Spirit.
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