From The Collected Works of Witness Lee - What Causes the Seed to Grow in the Parable in Mathew 13?

    There are probably many how to books on Christian growth. Many books cover topics like reading the Bible more, living with purpose, and prayer.    A few days ago I read a chapter called The Way to Grow out of The Collected Works of Witness Lee  that warmed my heart. In this chapter Witness Lee begins by talking about the parable of the sower in Matthew 13. Most Christians know there are four kinds of ground in this parable--hard, stony, thorny, and good. Most farmers know that whether a seed makes it or not has a lot to do with the soil. In his sharing, he pinpoints the problem in the heart  on page 543 to one thing:  

  If we spend time to study these three cases, we will see that the lack of growth is due to one thing:  after a person is saved by having the divine seed sown into him, he may not love the Lord.  If we study our history and compare it with the New Testament, we will find that the first step, the first main thing needed, for a believer to grow is to love the Lord (Matt. 22:37; John 14:23; 1 Cor. 2:9; Rev. 2:4)...If we want the Lord to grow within us, our heart must be dug. Our heart can be dug by only one thing--love...No one and nothing can take away the hidden stones in our heart.  This requires our love toward the Lord.  If we do not love the Lord, it will be difficult for any of us to avoid being choked (Lee, Witness. The Collected Works of Witness Lee,  Vol. 4,  1964, Print).  

I read and reread this page because I had never heard something so clear and so simple on how to grow.  I really like the prayer he gives: "If we simply pray, 'Lord, be merciful to me.  Grant me a love for You,' our stony heart will be dealt with" ( Page 544).  

   Then he shares three other helps to foster our spiritual growth--confessing our sins and failures, exercising our spirit to touch the Lord (John 4:24), and last of all we would live our daily life in contact with the Lord.  Since reading this chapter, this prayer has stayed in my heart.  A few days ago I came across a wonderful quote from  Augustine on loving God that I wrote in my journal:  

" I love You, Lord, not doubtingly, but with absolute certainty.

  Your word beat upon my heart until I fell in love with You,

 and now the universe and everything in it

tells me to love You."

Posts on books by Watchman Nee:

Why God Has to Forgive us   -  The Gospel of God  
Hearing God     Tell Him - The Collected Works of Watchman Nee, Volume 18
 Experiencing the Divine Potter at the Pottery Shop   Worshipping the Ways of God  by 
Adventures in Handing Out Gospel Tracts - Part 1     How to Distribute Tracts - The Collected Works of Watchman Nee

Posts on books by Witness Lee:

Did You Know God Has a Biography?   The History of God in His Union with Man
 Seeing God's New Testament Economy in the Book of Acts Part 2 of 2      The Economy of God