Your Soul Cannot Remain the Same Year after Year

In the Parable of the Sower found in Luke 8.5-15, our Lord reveals to us the condition of our souls. Our soul is either hard, filled with the weeds of temptation, blocked by the rocks of struggle, or rich fertile soil. Year after year God, just like the dedicated farmer scatters seed, sends out the Word of God to every soul no matter what condition. If our soul is prepared to receive the Word, our faith bears fruit; if not, our faith withers away.

The work of every farmer, and therefore the work of each Christian, is to continually work the soil either to improve poor soil, or maintain rich fertile soil. Glance at any vacant lot in town and even the riches soil eventually fills with weeds and rocks eventually hardening to the point of being an eyesore. Our soul is no different. We must either work to improve our soul or maintain a healthy Godly soul. If we leave our soul “just the way it is” it becomes just another vacant lot showing the lack of attention.

Year after year we hear the same Gospel stories read to us in Church, and year after year our souls is not in the same condition it was the year or years before. If you want your soul to become more fertile and filled with fewer weeds, it takes work. The more your work your soul, the better the soil becomes and the more fruit your faith with produce when your soul receives the seed and you hear the Word of God. But if you depend on what you learned last year or when you were in Sunday School as a child so many years ago, don’t be surprised when the Word of God doesn’t grow into fruit in your soul. Don’t let your soul become an abandoned lot, embrace the life of Orthodoxy and your soul will become more fertile each year and your faith will bear more fruit. No matter what you choose, your soul cannot remain the same. It’s up to you.