Instruct a wise man and he will be wiser still. Teach a righteous man and he
will add to his learning. ~Proverbs 9:9
I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but as for the one who has nothing, even what he has will be taken away. ~Luke 19:26
Yesterday we talked about knowing when to speak and when not to speak and we used the four soils as an illustration of the types of hearts that may be more receptive or less receptive depending upon their heart condition. Then I said that I hope that all of the readers on this list are the fourth soil and I gave some examples of what the fourth soil might look and act like.
For the sake of review, we said of the Fourth soil person:
You want to know. You want to grow. You want to be fruitful. You should be a safe person to have a deep discussion with about spiritual matters without being easily offended. You should be a person who is interested in knowing the truth, even if it means having to change your thinking on a matter. You should be a person who will take pearls of wisdom and appreciate them for what they are and not trample them or toss them away because you don’t like them. You should be a person that can have a deep conversation, even a conflict, and part as friends.
Solomon says: “Instruct a wise man and he will be wiser still. Teach a righteous man and he will add to his learning.” Fourth soil people are eager learners. They know that they don’t know it all. They are grateful to be around those who can teach them more. They love to read and learn more. They are eager to make their soil more and more rich to grow even healthier crops. They yearn to learn more of Christ and sit at his feet, not just for the sake of accumulating knowledge but to know better how to serve and please the Lord. We want to become dark, rich earth that can support life.
When we lived in Maine, we were amazed at how rough the soil was. The joke in Maine is that the best thing their soil can grow is rocks! There was a lot of raised bed gardening there because it was easier to build a frame and buy good soil to fill it, rather than endure all of the back-breaking labor to remove the rocks. When we first bought our property and put a used mobile home on it, we spent the first Summer, with the kids, raking rocks the way others rake leaves! We removed what rocks we could so that we could plant grass. In fact, the bulldozer that helped prepare the land for our mobile home came across some boulders that were too big to move, so we agreed to just have him raise them some and we ended up working around them, kind of like natural lawn decorations.
Good, fertile soil is so precious. It is a blessing that gives beyond itself. The wonderful thing about the Christian life is that we can all become the fourth soil if we are willing to do so, in Christ. He would love to see His seed planted in healthy soil. He would love to help us grow deep roots and clear out our weeds. It’s all part of His improvement plan.
But then, consider what happens to soil that is ignored. Soil can also become worse when it is not tended. In Jesus’ parable about the workers in Luke 19, note the comment Jesus says about the one who was not diligent: “even what he has will be taken away.” We cannot take our walk for granted. We may go to church and own ten Bibles, but if we don’t listen with a willingness to learn, or if we don’t at least try to read one of the Bibles on our shelf or coffee table, they are doing us no good. We are ignoring our soil and we risk being the loser in the end.
Prayer: I want more of Jesus, more and more and more! I love your Word Oh Lord and commit myself to sit at your feet and learn from you, then be a doer of the Word and not just a hearer. In Jesus' name, amen.
Song: Deeper Deeper
I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but as for the one who has nothing, even what he has will be taken away. ~Luke 19:26
Yesterday we talked about knowing when to speak and when not to speak and we used the four soils as an illustration of the types of hearts that may be more receptive or less receptive depending upon their heart condition. Then I said that I hope that all of the readers on this list are the fourth soil and I gave some examples of what the fourth soil might look and act like.
For the sake of review, we said of the Fourth soil person:
You want to know. You want to grow. You want to be fruitful. You should be a safe person to have a deep discussion with about spiritual matters without being easily offended. You should be a person who is interested in knowing the truth, even if it means having to change your thinking on a matter. You should be a person who will take pearls of wisdom and appreciate them for what they are and not trample them or toss them away because you don’t like them. You should be a person that can have a deep conversation, even a conflict, and part as friends.
Solomon says: “Instruct a wise man and he will be wiser still. Teach a righteous man and he will add to his learning.” Fourth soil people are eager learners. They know that they don’t know it all. They are grateful to be around those who can teach them more. They love to read and learn more. They are eager to make their soil more and more rich to grow even healthier crops. They yearn to learn more of Christ and sit at his feet, not just for the sake of accumulating knowledge but to know better how to serve and please the Lord. We want to become dark, rich earth that can support life.
When we lived in Maine, we were amazed at how rough the soil was. The joke in Maine is that the best thing their soil can grow is rocks! There was a lot of raised bed gardening there because it was easier to build a frame and buy good soil to fill it, rather than endure all of the back-breaking labor to remove the rocks. When we first bought our property and put a used mobile home on it, we spent the first Summer, with the kids, raking rocks the way others rake leaves! We removed what rocks we could so that we could plant grass. In fact, the bulldozer that helped prepare the land for our mobile home came across some boulders that were too big to move, so we agreed to just have him raise them some and we ended up working around them, kind of like natural lawn decorations.
Good, fertile soil is so precious. It is a blessing that gives beyond itself. The wonderful thing about the Christian life is that we can all become the fourth soil if we are willing to do so, in Christ. He would love to see His seed planted in healthy soil. He would love to help us grow deep roots and clear out our weeds. It’s all part of His improvement plan.
But then, consider what happens to soil that is ignored. Soil can also become worse when it is not tended. In Jesus’ parable about the workers in Luke 19, note the comment Jesus says about the one who was not diligent: “even what he has will be taken away.” We cannot take our walk for granted. We may go to church and own ten Bibles, but if we don’t listen with a willingness to learn, or if we don’t at least try to read one of the Bibles on our shelf or coffee table, they are doing us no good. We are ignoring our soil and we risk being the loser in the end.
Prayer: I want more of Jesus, more and more and more! I love your Word Oh Lord and commit myself to sit at your feet and learn from you, then be a doer of the Word and not just a hearer. In Jesus' name, amen.
Song: Deeper Deeper
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