It's amazing to me how the word of God really is a seemingly living and breathing thing.  A seed planted that can be snatched from our hearts by Satan, can grow and then wither or can grow and produce a bountiful crop.  I've read today's scriptures before.  Corinthians was confusing, the Psalm OK and Luke was reassuring.  Today, because of some events in my life, they spoke to me in ways that they never have before and in ways I never expected.  

My wife's uncle Willis died in a house fire this week.  I would be hard pressed to think of a worse way to die than by fire.  In talking to the police I learned that the fire had been arson.  I also learned that Willis had died only a few feet from a door and a window.  Willis was a gentle man and I simply cannot understand how or why this could happen.  Who would want to harm him and why should he have to endure such a horrible death?

The passages from 1 Corinthians were very reassuring to me.  Our current body is just a seed.  Yes, it is weak and it is perishable.  But our current, natural body is just the seed that leads to our eternal, spiritual body when we are raised.  The spiritual body is raised in glory and power and it is imperishable.  In the case of Uncle Willis, I looked at his death and felt that death had won a victory over life.  We are assured that this is not true.

The passage from Luke had a very different effect on me.  I've always tried to stay in the word of God and I guess, because of that, I've always thought of my heart as fertile soil.  I guess I kind of have a prideful heart in reality.  The image of Uncle Willis, only two steps away from life, but for reasons unknown not taking those steps has been in my mind this week.  This passage made me wonder if that is me.  Am I almost to fertile soil, but with a prideful heart I'm not quite there?  Am I ripe for Satan's hand when temptation comes?  Will my faith wither when times get hard?  This passage was very convicting for me.  Faith is a journey and the word of God is our map.  We can't simply stop and say we've arrived.  We press on with God's promise of a bountiful crop and an imperishable body.  My prayer would be that I would always stay in God's word, that I would seek after God's will for me and that I would always try to make my heart fertile ground.