Break Up New Ground

“Sow for yourselves righteousness; Reap in mercy; Break up your fallow ground, For it is time to seek the Lord, Till He comes and rains righteousness on you.”

Hosea 10:12 NKJV

Once upon a time, Israel “was a lush vineyard, yielding abundant fruit...” and the people were grateful for what they had (v. 1). Our life is a gift and an opportunity, which is why we want it to be lush and fruitful. Often, however, we are not grateful and do not praise God. Instead, we remember to seek Him only when the foxes have ruined the vineyard. Few can testify that they encountered the Lord in a peaceful moment, while most found Him in difficulty and despair. For everyone, however, what matters is that He was found as promised: "Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will rescue you, and you will honor me" (Psalm 50:15). The prophet's people remained faithful until things changed and their hearts began to be divided. Are our hearts divided today? We usually ask for divine intervention, leaving all the work to Him. It is convenient to remain spectators while He works, but let us not forget the words of the apostle Paul to the church in Corinth: “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth” (1 Corinthians 3:6). This demonstrates that our work precedes divine intervention.

A field needs to be plowed before it can be sown. In order for His righteousness to spread over us, we need to till our field. It is natural to think that this refers to our hearts, where we keep our feelings and affections, but also resentment, malice, anger, and much more. We are invited to stop and check what is in our hearts, to see if we have planted good seed there, and to turn it over. The parable of the sower reminds us that he went out and sowed good seed in his field. Some rocks prevented some of the seeds from penetrating the soil. There will always be thorns, such as evil thoughts and actions that extinguish the work of the Spirit. The rain that must reach us from above requires action from below, a plowed field, an intimate desire to change our lives. The Spirit convinces us of our condition, shows us our perdition if we do not change. It is up to us to decide what to do, where to lead our lives. It takes courage to examine ourselves. We should analyze ourselves and ask ourselves how many times it has rained, how many trees have been planted, how much providence has already come. If we had a real sense of gratitude, we would be busy every day tilling our field. We ask God to plant trees and make it rain on them, to come and visit the garden of our heart, while we strive to keep it in a worthy manner.

We are urged to till it, a job that cannot be delegated to others, but is exclusively ours. The list of thorns, of hidden sins, is long; however, regardless of how many and what they are, they must all be eradicated. After deciding to turn the page, the second step is to ask God for help to assist us and motivate someone to fertilize our lives as needed. When the people of Israel received manna from heaven, they had to gather it themselves, demonstrating that He wants us to be His collaborators and not puppets manipulated at His will. God's grace is indeed “irresistible,” but it is not “violent” to anyone. His advice to clean up the field of our hearts comes to us as an invitation, so that showers of blessings may come to flood us with justice and mercy. If we are willing, He will bless us, but we are invited to examine ourselves and begin a new journey. We are called to take full responsibility for the life He has given us, in which we have allowed weeds to grow or placed stones and rocks. I am certain that with the help and guidance of the Spirit, we will be able to turn our lives around, change them, and live according to His will.

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Weekly Bible Reading Plan #46

November 10, Jeremiah 48-49; Hebrews 7

November 11, Jeremiah 50; Hebrews 8

November 12, Jeremiah 51-52; Hebrews 9

November 13, Lamentations 1-2; Hebrews 10:1-18

November 14, Lamentations 3-5; Hebrews 10:19-39

November 15, Ezekiel 1-2; Hebrews 11:1-19

November 16, Ezekiel 3-4; Hebrews 11:20-40