Luke 8:11-13 Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away.

Let us skip over how the seed takes root to examine the results of that seed taking root in your heart.

Ephesians 3:16-19  That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;  That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,  May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;  And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.

To be filled with the fullness of God, not in part but in whole, is the end result of that seed taking root. Key to the understanding of how is also listed here. By faith, in the heart, to receive Christ into your heart by faith is how the Word takes root and nourishes the soul and grows Godliness in you.

By faith is not a head shot, a knowing born of reasoning, calculation, adjustments and a simple belief born of the mind. This faith creates a longing in your heart that only Jesus can fill. This is why the parable of the sower instructs us that the good soil in prepared to receive the Word. The heart has to be broken and found to be wanting for our savior.

The soil cannot break itself, neither can our hearts decide to be broken. That is the work of God thru the power of the Holy Spirit.

Psalm 19:14 Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.

Time for another baseball lesson.

My father attended all my games. When I would do something right he would swell with pride and say “That’s my boy.”

One game I remember well, because I didn’t do so well. I came up against the opposing pitcher who had a fastball I had never seen before. It wasn’t an unknown pitch, just one I had never seen thrown at me. It was a rising fastball. He struck me out with three pitches. It was the first time I’d ever been struck out with three pitches.

My father shook his head and said, “That’s my boy.” It wasn’t with the same enthusiasm as before but he still acknowledged our relationship. After every game, win or lose, we would go out for a tasty freeze.

This day he sat across from me and calmly asked, “Do you know what you did wrong?” I could only answer, “I went chasing fastballs.” His answer pulled it all into perspective.

“I taught you to hit strikes.”

God the Father teaches us to chase after righteousness and not to chase after what you think looks good.

Proverbs 21:21 He that followeth after righteousness and mercy findeth life, righteousness, and honour.

His lessons are calm, accurate, and appropriate to the moment.

Proverbs 2:9-11 Then shalt thou understand righteousness, and judgment, and equity; yea, every good path. When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul; Discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee:

I stopped chasing rising fastballs and went back to chasing strikes.

My Father smiles quietly.