Christianity as Spiritual Path

“Some fell on the rock; and as it grew up, it withered for lack of moisture.” The ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy.  But these have no root; they believe only for a while and in a time of testing fall away.”

Brothers and sisters in Christ—

     We must avoid thinking of the parable of the sower as being about certain kinds of people.  In this sense, this parable falls into the same category as the parable of the weeds in the field.  No, in this parable the Lord shows that the decision to follow Him is the determination to embark upon a spiritual path.  By His reference to the depth of soil, the Lord reminds us that continual growth is necessary in order to survive the times of temptation, which come in the course of our lives. 

     Christianity is meant to be a spiritual path toward progress and growth.  For this reason, since the days of the Early Church, there has existed the traditional practice of “the examination of conscience,” as a daily assessment of the quality and quantity of growth and progress along the spiritual path. 

     In Psalm 31, King David bears witness to this spiritual path: “Blessed is the man whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin in covered.  Blessed is the man to whom the Lord imputes no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.  While I kept silence, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long.  For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my moisture was dried up as by the heat of summer.”  In this passage, we see progression and growth.  Sin led to the degradation of David’s very being: moisture turned into drought.  Then, David confesses his sin, which leads to God’s forgiveness, which in turn leads to a life of intense prayer, which leads the holy king into an ever-deepening relationship with God.  In this relationship, he is personally taught by God what He must be and what he must do I order to be perfect.  King David presents our relationship with God as one that concerns a Teacher and a student, or a mentor and an apprentice.  It is a relationship that involves an ongoing personal commitment, since the teacher agrees to teach, and the student agrees to be taught.  It is a not a friendship in the strict sense, because friendship is defined as a relationship between equals.  The spiritual path is a loving relationship between a Master and a student.  Two verses later, David records the words of God the Teacher, as He intervenes in His own words.  He says: “I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go.  I will give you counsel, with my eye upon you.” The parable gives us examples of the various pitfalls along the spiritual path.  For example, believers fall away from the truth as a result of the action of the demons.  Then again, at other times, followers of the Lord fall away in times of depression, frustration and despair (illustrated by the rocky ground).  Third, the faithful are sometimes overcome by the cares, or the pleasures, of this world (illustrated by the thorns).  But then, finally, sometimes the spiritual path, impelled by grace, moves forward smoothly to progress and growth. 

     Naturally, it is possible that a certain aspect of a given life could be among the thorns, while another aspect could be full of the evidence of growth, since there might be apparent growth in one particular virtue, while progress in other areas might be stagnated.  In other words, imagine if all of the seed that is described is sown in the same heart. 

     On our part, what is essential to the spiritual path is commitment and daily practice, which is specifically directed to progress and growth.  Prayer is not an obligation to be fulfilled, but a means to that growth.  A commitment to progress on the spiritual path means readiness to examine our consciences everyday to gauge our progress in the resolutions we have made.