Hebrews 6:7 (NKJV)
For the earth which drinks in the rain that often comes upon it, and bears herbs useful for those by whom it is cultivated, receives blessing from God; but if it bears thorns and briers, it is rejected and near to being cursed, whose end is to be burned. (Hebrews 6:7, 8 NKJV)
At first reading of these verses I was puzzled.
Why would the God who can cause the earth to bring forth fruit curse it when it doesn’t? Isn’t it all under His control? Doesn’t He have a say in whether or not it bears useful herbs or briers?
Yes. And no.
It all comes down to His sovereign will and our free will.
Wait a minute, weren’t we talking about ground and plants? Yes, but the context of the scripture (most important for correct interpretation) is that of every man and every woman’s free will to choose to follow Christ or turn away from Him and put Him to an open shame.
1. What we see in this passage of scripture, is that God creates the perfect environment for fruitfulness for the ground.
“For the earth which drinks in the rain…” This is the part out of our control. This is the hearts of those we pray for that we can’t reach into but God can. This is the job that we haven’t got yet and can’t see how. Or the tragic circumstances of life that we so desperately want to pass through and move on wishing it had never come about… But God brings the rain. Opportunity for growth. The bursting of the seed into a shoot. The forceful opening of the cocoon to reveal the butterfly. The breaking of the shell as new life forces it’s way into the world, our world.
Energy, effort, time & most times pain bring forth new life into our lives. Behind the scenes, God is working, He brings the rain.
2. We also see that the ground is prepared, “…for those by whom it is cultivated…”
This is the part of leadership over our lives. They are ploughing, cultivating, planting, constantly working the soil of our hearts & lives. Sowing the seed of hope in the Word of God into us.
This also comes to us as to what we allow into our lives. What we watch, what we listen to, who we associate with. Those that we allow, in a sense, an influential role in our lives. There is no one alive today that is not influenced in some way by the people around them. Whether peers or simply lives watched from a distance, we are all influenced by others around us. This must be a warning to us also.
3. “…receives blessing from God.” “…near to being cursed.”
This is the result of our free will and choice to receive the implanted and watered word, or to reject it and go our own way which scripture tells us ends in sin and death.
We have the choice. We don’t have to choose Gods way, that’s how He has made us. A living, loving God that doesn’t want a bunch of robots following Him. He wants us to choose Him and His way with the free will He made and created us with.
“But if you refuse to serve the LORD, then choose today whom you will serve. Would you prefer the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates? Or will it be the gods of the Amorites in whose land you now live? But as for me and my family, we will serve the LORD.” (Joshua 24:15 NLT)