The Seeds Need Water
“For the earth bears fruit: first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear.” Mark 4:28
It doesn’t matter how fertile the soil is, if there is no rain from heaven and no sunlight, the seed will never germinate.
The human heart is the soil in which the seeds of truth grow, but it must have the rain and sunshine of divine grace upon it before it will produce any spiritual fruit.
A man once tore down a building that had stood for many years on his property. He smoothed over the ground and left it. The rain fell on it, and the sunshine also; and in a few days there sprang up multitudes of little flowers, unlike any that grew in the neighbourhood. Where the building had stood was once a garden, and the seeds had lain in the soil without moisture, light, or warmth all the years. So soon as the rain and sunshine touched them they sprang up into life and beauty.
So very often the seeds of truth lie dormant in a human heart because the light and warmth of the Holy Spirit are shut away from them by sin and unbelief. After many years the heart is opened in some way to the influences of the Holy Spirit and the seeds which are still living shoot up into beauty. The instructions of a godly parent may lie dormant in someone’s heart their entire life without bearing any fruit, and yet in the end may still save the soul.
When we have sown the heavenly seed we should continually pray that God would pour his Spirit, like rain and sunshine, upon the heart where it lies to bring it to life. In the same way for ourselves, we should seek always to keep our hearts open to every life-breathing influence of the grace of God. We need to pray constantly for the rain to come down otherwise our hearts will lie bare and sterile even though they’re filled with the divine seeds.