June 18

After Many Days

All by itself the earth produces a crop—first the stalk, then the head, then grain that ripens within. — Mark 4:28 BSB

But even when the soil is rich, seeds need sunlight and rain to grow. The human heart is the soil where the seeds of truth are planted, but without the light and warmth of divine grace, no spiritual fruit will grow.

There’s a story of a man who tore down an old building on his property. After smoothing the ground, he left it alone. Soon, with the spring rains and sunshine, a variety of flowers began to bloom—flowers that were unlike any others in the area. The spot where the building had stood was once a garden, and seeds had lain dormant in the soil for years, waiting for the conditions to be right for them to grow.

In the same way, the seeds of truth often lie dormant in human hearts for years. Without the light and warmth of the Holy Spirit, they cannot grow. But when the heart opens to the Spirit’s influence, those long-buried seeds of truth can spring to life. A mother’s teachings may lie in a child’s heart, seemingly forgotten for decades, but at last, they may bear fruit and lead the soul to salvation.

When we sow the seeds of God’s Word, we should continually pray for the Spirit’s rain and sunshine to water the hearts where the seeds have been planted. And for ourselves, we must keep our hearts open to the grace of God, praying constantly for the rain of His Spirit to fall, so that the seeds of truth within us will grow and bear fruit. Without the Spirit, even the richest soil will remain barren, despite being filled with divine seeds.