Pioneer Part 3

Four hundred years.  Biblically speaking, that’s ten generations.  That’s how long it had been since a fresh word from God.  Israel had fallen into a dry, oppressive system of following rules – many rules that no one could possibly keep.  The heart of the Law had gotten lost in the letter of the Law.  The ones “managing” the Law had fallen into a political system, and had forgotten the love with which God gave His people the Law.

“In the fullness of time” God sent His Son, Jesus to plant something new in the dry desert of His people:  “Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world.  But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.  And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!”  Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.”  (Galatians 4:3-7)

Again, we see that Jesus is the Pioneer of our souls, redeeming us, or buying us back, to original loving relationship with God.  He did so by actually being a Seed being planted in our hearts!  “Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made.  He does not say, “And to seeds,” as of many, but as of one, “And to your Seed,” who is Christ.”  (Galatians 3:16)

Seeing as the ground of the hearts of humanity had been dry and desert-like for generations, God sent John the Baptist to prepare the way, speaking of the things of God.  He led many to repentance, or a turning back to God, so they could receive the Messiah who was soon-coming.  The soil of their hearts needed tending to receive the Word Himself, bringing them to belief in Jesus and the salvation He brings.

Jesus spoke of the soil, or receptivity of the human heart in His parable of the soils, seen in Matthew 13, Mark 4, and Luke 8.  If the heart is rocky or dry ground, the seed gets taken, or begins to take root and then dies.  In ground that is full of weeds and thorns, the seed gets choked out by other things.  And in the good soil, prepared for the word of God, the seed takes root and provides a harvest in the heart of the believer.

Part of that harvest is having the Word Himself planted in your heart.  His righteousness, peace, and joy have the opportunity to fill and overflow our hearts in all circumstances as well as in our relationships.  We truly become re-born into a new spiritual life, or born-again.  The apostle John wrote:  “No one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.”  (1 John 3:9)  John is speaking of repeated, or habitual sin.  Those who are born of God will sin, but God will speak to their hearts and lead them back.

Jesus, as our Pioneer, has taken what was a hopeless desert in the heart, and has planted Himself, the Seed in a barren place.  He has redeemed the hearts of all who will receive Him.  He has made our desert into a fruitful, pleasant place.  That pleasant place starts a new “cycle” for us, one that receives and gives life.

That leads me to these questions:  What is the condition of the soil of your heart?  Have you let Jesus fill your heart and bring you back to life in your spirit?  Ask Him to help you.  Spend time with Him.  He loves you.

(If you have questions about anything shared in this topic, feel free to message me.)