broken for the harvest
"The seed on good ground..." —Luke 8:15
The best soil for a good harvest is newly tilled soil. What does that soil look like to a gardener? The soil is completely turned upside-down. It is broken-up into clods. It is not at all smooth. Yet such soil is optimal for making seeds sprout and grow.
Have you ever had a broken heart and felt like your life was turned upside-down, inside-out, and worked over? Even now, are you in constant pain, with your life as one big upheaval? Then to Jesus, the Gardener (see Jn 20:15), you are a beautiful sight to behold. You are just like the good soil that has been tilled and worked over, ready for planting.
Right now, decide to offer your upside-down heart and your life full of upheavals to Jesus. You might feel that you are so wounded as to be useless, that your life is too big of a mess to ever be set right. Jesus, however, looks at you and sees the potential for a miraculous, abundant harvest. In your brokenness, you are in prime position to be the best soil, if you offer yourself to the Lord as good seedground. Allow Him to use you for the good of His kingdom. He will fertilize, nourish, and water you, caring for you with gentle love. He can use your mixed-up, broken-hearted life to bear great fruit. All you need is to not harden your heart and thereby become the worst soil (see Lk 8:12). Be willing to offer your brokenness for His harvest.
Prayer: Jesus, gentle and humble of heart, make my heart like Yours. May nothing in my life go to waste. Redeem many through my pain.
Promise: "[Jesus] is the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, Who alone has immortality and Who dwells in unapproachable light." —1 Tm 6:15-16
Praise: St. Pio's zeal for the Holy Eucharist held him in rapture as he celebrated Mass.
Reference: (This teaching was submitted by a member of our editorial team.)
Rescript: †Most Reverend Joseph R. Binzer, Auxiliary Bishop, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, February 27, 2017
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