January 26

And He taught them many things in parables, and in His teaching He said, — Mark 4:2 BSB

Scripture uses two beautiful metaphors to illustrate how we receive the divine testimony. One is the sowing of seed, as in the parable of the sower. The farmer scatters the seed on the ground, and the soil, having been plowed and prepared, opens to receive the grain. After some time, the seed germinates, sending roots downward and a shoot upward, as the Lord says: “First the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear.”

This is a picture of how the testimony of Jesus Christ enters the soul, takes root, and grows upward. The roots grow deep into the soil of a tender conscience, while the shoots reach upward as the soul longs for God.

The second metaphor is grafting. James says, “Receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.” When a branch is grafted into a tree, sap begins to flow from the tree into the branch, joining the two together. Spiritually, when the soul receives the testimony of Christ, it’s like a graft being joined to a stock. The testimony of Christ is received into a broken heart, and as life flows from the stock into the branch, it creates a sweet union between the soul and the Word of God. This union leads to growth, bearing blossoms of hope, leaves of a genuine profession, and fruit of a godly life.