BELOW THE SURFACE.

In July, I had the privilege of joining some amazing people for SERVE Day at Hillcrest High School. Our task was to weed the flower beds, rearrange how some monkey grass was planted, trim some shrubs/flowers, and put down some new mulch.

I love to work outside. Sweating is rewarding to me. And I love that you get to see the “before and after” to provide evidence that your work made a difference. 

Before, every flower bed was overtaken by weeds…..they were brown because they had been doused with RoundUp, but they were unified in their efforts to take over all of that space! After, every weed was gone, every shrub was trimmed, every flower was planted or cut back, and the mulch looked pristine. 

In between the “before” and the “after” is the part most of us want to avoid: the “during.” The part that determines if you’re going to question why you started. The part when you’re going to wonder if it’s really worth all of the work you’ll put in. The part where you’re challenged to get below the surface.

Matthew 13 puts that SERVE Day project into context. In verses 1-23, Jesus gives us The Parable of the Sower to focus not so much on what was being sown…..but what it was being sown INTO. Four types of soil are mentioned:

1. Beaten Path

2. Rocky/Gravel

3. Thorny 

4. Good/Rich 

None of us can escape our place in this parable because one of those soil types describes your heart. Right now.

I want to camp out on option 2 for a bit. You can see the “before” situation in the first picture. Weeds EVERYWHERE. You would think dead things would be be able to hang on so well. (Go ahead and chew on that statement for a bit.) However, after I used a variety of rakes and hoes for several hours, I learned that those weeds were hanging on to what was below the surface. ROCKS. (See picture 2.) When the rake was unsuccessful, I moved to the hoe….and when that was unsuccessful, I was down on my hands and knees pulling up the weeds with my hands. Wad after was was full of ROCKS. We later learned that there had been lava rock in all of those flower beds at one time. Most of the rock was never removed….it just burrowed down and was pressed down as new dirt or mulch was placed on top of it. 

Matthew 13:20-21 (The Passion Translation) states it like this:

“The one sown on gravel represents the person who gladly hears the kingdom message, but his experience remains shallow. Shortly after he hears it, troubles and persecutions come because of the kingdom message he received. Then he quickly falls away, for the truth didn’t sink deeply into his heart.”

The ROCKY SOIL kept the seed from taking root and thriving. The seed in the parable refers to the Word of God. So….back to the status of your heart….what type of soil is there? Just like those rocks couldn’t be seen with the naked eye, neither can the condition of your heart be seen with the human eye. But what “rocks” have never been cleaned out? What “rocks” have been pushed down, covered up, and ignored because they’re BELOW THE SURFACE?

Here’s the reality – we ALL have “rocks” in our hearts. We have hurts, disappointments, broken trust, insecurities, and doubts that are easier to just push down, cover up, and press on. However….look at the effects. When we don’t attend to things that truly need our attention, it hurts even worse to get it out. Even with gloves on….there were blisters and tearing of skin on my hands. The longer we leave the “rocks” below the surface, the more likely we will experience even more pain when we do try to get them out. 

What’s buried in your heart today? What’s keeping His Word and His Way from taking root in you? 

As David prayed in Psalm 139:23-24 (TPT): “God, I invite Your searching gaze into my heart. Examine me through and through; find out everything that may be hidden within me. Put me to the test and sift through all my anxious cares. See if there is any path of pain I’m walking on, and lead me back to Your glorious, everlasting way— the path that brings me back to You.”

Time to get BELOW THE SURFACE.