阅读经文 

我们购买了现在居住的房子后，便开始在后园种植了。我们剪去草坪上一部分的草、给草坪施肥和埋下其他养料、翻松土壤、又撒下种子；尽管我们曾经有过种植的经历，但这片园地的成活率却非常糟糕。

第二年我们再接再厉地尝试，可惜没有什么好转。有一天，一位从事园艺的朋友来探望我们，他留意到：“你们家的后面有一片核桃林，我推测没有什么东西能够在你们的园地里生长的了。”我们因此学习到令人难以接受的一个教训：核桃树把一种称为胡桃醌（juglone）的化学物质注入泥土中，这种化学物扼杀了很多其他植物的生命，包括蔬菜在内。虽然如此，我们仍然坚持想要继续尝试种植，最后我们发现，只要把园圃高度提升，便可以在后园种东西了。

胡桃醌（juglone）帮助我明白了耶稣所讲的四种土壤的比喻。我们的心就像一片需要料理的园地，可是，我们心中的土壤会变得坚硬或充满荆棘、石头、甚至含有像胡桃醌（juglone）那样的毒素。我们每个人的生命中都有妨碍我们长出圣灵果子的毒素；昔日的冲突造成的创伤、或一个愚昧的抉择带来的后果，都可能会产生深远的影响，而困难的人际关系也似乎难以解决。

耶稣不会挥动魔杖、把我们生命中的挣扎全部清除掉，然而，祂的恩典是足够帮助我们获得医治和得以成长的。祂说：“在世上你们有苦难，但你们可以放心，我已经胜了世界”。（参约 16:33）

Are you a person who sees a half glass of water as half full—or half empty? These are two very different ways of looking at life.

When we bought our current home, we started a garden in the backyard. We cut some grass out of the lawn, added fertilizer and other nutrients, turned over the soil, and planted seeds. Though we had done some gardening before, this garden performed terribly.

We tried again the next year, but it didn’t do any better. One day a horticulturalist friend came to visit, and he observed, “You have a walnut grove behind your home. I bet nothing grows in your garden.” So we learned a difficult lesson: walnut trees inject a chemical called juglone into the soil, and that kills the growth of many other plants, including vegetables. Determined to keep trying with our garden, though, we eventually discovered that a raised bed high off the ground works well in our yard.

Juglone helps me understand Jesus’ parable of the four soils. Our hearts are like gardens that need tending, but the soil of our hearts can be hardened or filled with thorns, rocks, and even toxins like juglone. We all have toxins in our lives that can prevent spiritual fruit from growing. Wounds from an old conflict or the effects of a bad decision can run deep, and difficult relationships can seem impossible to sort out.

Jesus doesn’t wave a magic wand and clear away all the struggles we have in life. But his grace is enough to help us heal and grow. He says, “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).