In Mark 4:1–20 Jesus taught about the value of accepting and applying truth. Using a parable (or metaphor) to make his point, Jesus compared a farmer’s scattered seed on different types of soil to truth that falls on hearts of varying levels of receptivity. If one has a hardened heart closed to truth, an enemy can snatch away whatever is heard. If one’s heart is like rocky ground, truth fails to take root despite initial excitement over it. Then, when that truth leads to difficulty, it is renounced. Seed that falls on thorny ground is like a heart that receives truth but then allows other concerns to choke out its impact. The best ground is the heart that accepts and applies truth, culminating in a fruitful and abundant life. Those closed to the truth and unwilling to change are unfit for leadership development. Serving leaders invest in those who are receptive to truth, are changed by its power, and are eager to reproduce their transformation in others.

Lead, love, and serve, like Jesus!

KEY QUESTIONS: On whom am I currently focusing my leadership efforts? What are my options if one or more of them are closed to truth and unwilling to change? How might I move a person’s heart from “hardness, rockiness, or thorniness” to “openness?” How would I characterize the “soil” of my heart?