“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.” It does not want to fall among the thorns where it is choked “by the cares and riches and pleasures of life” and does not come to fruit (Luke 8:11ff.). It is a great miracle that the eternal word of the almighty God seeks a dwelling within me, wants to be held within me like seed in the soil. God’s word is held not within my intellect but within my heart. The aim of
Page 514