January 22 Daily Devotional

Scripture for Day 22—James 1:21

²¹ Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.

Devotional:

It seems likely—does it not?—that James was thinking of the parable of the sower from Luke 8:4–15:

⁴ And when a great crowd was gathering and people from town after town came to him, [Jesus] said in a parable: ⁵ "A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell along the path and was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the air devoured it. ⁶ And some fell on the rock, and as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture. ⁷ And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it. ⁸ And some fell into good soil and grew and yielded a hundredfold." As he said these things, he called out, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear."

⁹ And when his disciples asked him what this parable meant, ¹⁰ he said, "To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God, but for others they are in parables, so that 'seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.' ¹¹ Now the parable is this: The seed is the Word of God. ¹² The ones along the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the Word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. ¹³ And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the Word, receive it with joy. But these have no root; they believe for a while, and in time of testing fall away. ¹⁴ And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature. ¹⁵ As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the Word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience.

Jesus identified four types of responders to God's Word, four types of "soil." The first are like a beaten down path; the Word doesn't even have a chance to get implanted. The second are like rocky soil; they seem to respond with joy to the gospel, but have no root, so the trials of this life occasion their falling away. Others are like thorny soil. They do hear God's Word, but then they get "choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature." As for the good soil, "they are those who, hearing the Word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience." By the bye, that word translated "patience" is the very same word that is translated "steadfastness" in James 1:3–4.

Examine yourself. Which type of soil are you? One can only be good soil if he has been born from above by a sovereign work of the Holy Spirit. Pray that by his grace, God will make you to be good soil for his Word.

Click here for background on the author of Are You For Real?: Meditations in the Epistle of James for Secret or Family Worship.