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117. First Soil, Then Seed


Matthew 13:1-23, Mark 4:1-20, Luke 8:4-15,
Key Verse: He said, "The knowledge of the secrets of the Kingdom of God has been given to you, but to others I speak in parables, so that, "though seeing they may not see; though hearing, they may not understand."
Luke 8:10

Four kinds of soil, but only one kind of seed. All farmers know that to get a good crop, the work needs to be concentrated on the soil first before the seed can be planted. If the seed is the Word of God, and the soil is the heart of man, what can we learn from this parable about ourselves, about sharing the gospel, so that we have the best chance at being the fourth soil, producing a bountiful crop for our heavenly Father?

Consider the soil of the heart of the first person. It is so hard that the seed doesn't even have a chance to penetrate. It just lays on the surface and is easily snatched by the birds. This person's heart is hard. It may be wounded by many scars and hurts from the past, or it may have never heard about God and His love. This soil needs to be lovingly tenderized with water and nutrients. It may need to be broken up with skillful care. It needs to be softened and kneaded before it can receive the seed. This soil takes time and patience. The direct gospel may not work here, but love, kindness and time will.

The second soil isn't much better. It may receive the seed, and the seed can penetrate a bit, but there are too many rocks, too many doubts. The seed cannot compete, cannot get a good footing and dies young before having much effect. This soil needs discipleship. It would have been better if the rocks had been removed ahead of the planting, but there is still hope if the planter is willing to stick around to continue to work on the soil of this person's heart and guide it into fruitfulness. Obstacles need to be removed and, again, nutrients need to be added, but with tender care, this seed could grow.

The third soil is shallow. It is attractive to plants that don't bear good fruit, such as thorns and thistles. It grows something, but nothing worthwhile. It may be a good place to start a seed, but after a certain point, when the roots can go no deeper, it loses its will to live, becomes discouraged and dies because the bad plants are sucking away the nutrients. This soil also needs time and work. Concerns and distractions need to be met and addressed so that they can be removed as an obstacle to the good seed’s growth. Again, this soil could support the seed, but only through patient gardening practices, time, love and patience.

Finally, there is the good soil! Oh, if only we could all be like that! What a crop we could bear for our Lord. Yet, if we are willing to do the work, there is within each one of us the potential to become good, fertile soil. No soil is hopeless; not the soil of your heart, nor the soil of the hearts of those you love. While there is life there is hope. Be saturated in God's Word. Water it all with the tears of your prayers. Remove the stumbling blocks that stop the process of growing deeper into Christ and reap the harvest that you were called to in Him.

But what a surprise to find Jesus saying that his parables are themselves supposed to be stumbling blocks preventing some from understanding his teaching.  What is he up to?  What do we learn about Jesus in this strategy?  It seems to me that God’s plan that Jesus be sacrificed requires that some people, such as the Pharisees, must misunderstand Jesus and “not see” who he really is, or they would not have crucified him.  A mystery to ponder.

Hymn: "Thy Word Is Like a Garden, Lord" 

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