Everyone loves a good story. Jesus often taught in parables to help make His point. The passage we look at today tells the story of different soils and why the soil of our soul matters.

Although it is five letters, doubt can often be treated like a four-letter word. Doubt is normal and when we doubt we must learn where to direct our doubts. John the Baptist finds himself in prison and wondering if Jesus is really the “One?” So, John sends his friends to the source, Jesus himself, and they ask Jesus, “are you the one?” How Jesus responds speaks to just who He is and why that matters to us today.

In a moment of death, Jesus brings life as the people continue to be amazed. Jesus overcomes a seemingly impossible situation while displaying both his power and compassion.

Jesus spoke of the Kingdom, and now He beings to show what His rule and reign look like. A man’s daughter is ill and comes to Jesus for help. While the man displays great faith, Jesus speaks healing.

Knowing the right thing and doing the right thing are two different things. Jesus calls us to not only know who He is, but build our life on the foundation of following Him. Following Jesus gives us a foundation that does not shift even when things around us do.

Have you ever had a day where nothing seemed to be going right, and then one small thing happens and you lose your mind? No matter how hard we try to mask what is going on in our hearts, it will show up. What we root ourselves in determines the fruit of our lives. Rooting ourselves in the wrong things will lead to wrong fruit.

It is hard not to compare our actions and our lives to others. We fall into this trap all the time feeling like we are never measuring up or that others are never measuring up to our standards. But this is a dangerous way to live that leads to bitterness, resentment, and judgment of others. The truth is we all live well below the standard we were meant to, and yet by the grace of God, there is another way possible.

We live in a world divided and people have drawn hard lines. You have lines, spoken or unspoken you have drawn. So how do you love those outside the lines? How do you love with no expectations? What does it look like to be merciful as God is merciful?

Many of us have found the road of life to be a little bumpier than we hoped. And for many of us, we have made things more complicated and harder than necessary because we have forgotten what is most important. Before Jesus was to burst on the scene John the Baptist was called to prepare the way. To make straight the paths that were crooked, to level the hurdles so that those of his day may better see Jesus for who He really was and is. The words of John ring true for us today, reminding us to ready our hearts to see the King.

What if everything you were running after wasn’t worth chasing? Jesus began with blessing and turns to woe. Warning us about what truly matters and warning us that we are in danger of distracting ourselves to death.