Scripture Scribbles: July 12, 2026
the Gospel
Matthew 13:1-23
On that day, Jesus went out of the house and sat down by the sea.
Such large crowds gathered around him
that he got into a boat and sat down,
and the whole crowd stood along the shore.
And he spoke to them at length in parables, saying:
“A sower went out to sow.
And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path,
and birds came and ate it up.
Some fell on rocky ground, where it had little soil.
It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep,
and when the sun rose it was scorched,
and it withered for lack of roots.
Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it.
But some seed fell on rich soil, and produced fruit,
a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold.
Whoever has ears ought to hear.”
The disciples approached him and said,
“Why do you speak to them in parables?”
He said to them in reply,
“Because knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven
has been granted to you, but to them it has not been granted.
To anyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich;
from anyone who has not, even what he has will be taken away.
This is why I speak to them in parables, because
they look but do not see and hear but do not listen or understand.
Isaiah's prophecy is fulfilled in them, which says:
You shall indeed hear but not understand,
you shall indeed look but never see.
Gross is the heart of this people,
they will hardly hear with their ears,
they have closed their eyes,
lest they see with their eyes
and hear with their ears
and understand with their hearts and be converted,
and I heal them.
“But blessed are your eyes, because they see,
and your ears, because they hear.
Amen, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people
longed to see what you see but did not see it,
and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.
"Hear then the parable of the sower.
The seed sown on the path is the one
who hears the word of the kingdom without understanding it,
and the evil one comes and steals away
what was sown in his heart.
The seed sown on rocky ground
is the one who hears the word and receives it at once with joy.
But he has no root and lasts only for a time.
When some tribulation or persecution comes because of the word,
he immediately falls away.
The seed sown among thorns is the one who hears the word,
but then worldly anxiety and the lure of riches choke the word
and it bears no fruit.
But the seed sown on rich soil
is the one who hears the word and understands it,
who indeed bears fruit and yields a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold.”
the scribble
This year, I started my first cut flower garden.
It’s been so therapeutic for my heart; to get to start something, under the ground, and to have to wait for the results. It’s been surprisingly difficult, too. Turns out, waiting is hard. Even when it's for something as low-stakes as some beautiful flowers I hope to one day enjoy.
The truth is, roots take time.
They take time to grow, develop, expand. And there is just no rushing this process. There is simply no short cut you can take. In fact, if you try to hack a short cut, the roots will not grow as strong, resulting in fewer and less desirable flowers in the end. I’ve noticed throughout this process that this unavoidable truth drives me a little bit… crazy. I’ve been out checking on the flowers each week, monitoring their growth, trying to weed what I can, water when needed, but, ultimately, find myself with nothing to do but have to sit back and wait.
And the Lord has been pressing something into my heart through this. I hear him gently whispering to me that this is something I’ve yet to truly learn and fully appreciate or understand, about growth in the spiritual life too.
Today’s scripture passage is one of my all time favorite ones. It is so close to my heart, especially as it played such a monumental role in my conversion journey to coming to know Christ. I remember the first time I read this with fresh eyes, so eager to be the rich soil that goes on to produce a hundred fold. I remember thinking, “How could I not be? I certainly won’t be in the thorns or the scorched path!”
But, as I’ve journeyed with the Lord throughout these five years, something has slowly been made clear to me: You can’t rush growth. You can’t rush roots. They need time to grow. And not only time, but experience.
Just as the seeds I’ve sown in my flower garden need to be exposed to the elements–pounding rain, relentless summer sun, windy storms, gentle breezes, cool mornings–so do I. Only through time, experience, trials, joys, sufferings, and triumphs that I get through, with the Lord now by my side, can I grow to develop into the rich soil that He talks about in today’s Gospel.
So, my friend, today my prayer is this. Maybe you’ll join me in saying it?
Jesus, please make me into the rich soil, as I know only You can.
Please pour out your grace in my heart so that, in time, through
the trials and triumphs you permit in my path, I may become
the type of soil you can plant your seeds in.
The type of soil that will go on to produce a hundred fold.
Amen.
Today’s devotion was written by Rachel Smith
