Luke 8:11-12 "'This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God. Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts so that they may not beleive and be saved.

"The seed is the Word of God..." Like the seed has the power to be planted, grow, and produce a harvest, so the Word of God has the same power in our lives. Hebrews 4:12 says, "For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart."

But for a seed to prudence a harvest it must be sown, retained, rooted, and matured before it bears fruit. It doesn't just happen on its own but requires constant care and continual perseverance to see a harvest.

"Those along the path are the ones who hear..." The path. How can seed grow on a path? The path is hard, always being walked over, the seed never having the means to grow as it is kicked around and eventually snatched away. They only hear, they do not retain. But how can they retain if their hearts are hard and closed to understanding, the seed has no where to go, but is taken away, unable to have any effect in a heart. Jesus describes many who heard his parables a few verses before (Luke 8:10), "though seeing, they may not see; though hearing, they may not understand."

James 1:22-25 says, "Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in the mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it--he will be blessed in what he does."

The heart that only listens cannot produce a harvest. Psalms 95:8 says, "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts..." I cannot merely hear the conviction of the Lord and not act on it. Today during On the Mount my goal is to listen to the things he brings to mind and set a plan of how to put them into action.