Jesus often used stories (or parables) that held many layers of meaning. Remember the parable of the Sower. When the disciples asked Jesus to explain what the parable meant, Jesus said, “The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. Don’t you understand?”
14 The sower sows the word. (Mark 4:14, ESV)
Jesus, then, went on to describe the importance of the soil that each seed grows in. If the soil of our hearts is compressed and hard, Satan comes and takes away the gospel seed that was sown.
15 And these are the ones along the path, where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them. (Mark 4:14-15)
If the soil is full of rocks that hinder the roots, trials or hard circumstance that happen on account of The Word, these barriers will cause these plants to fail.
16 And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: the ones who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy. 17 And they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away.
(Mark 4:16-17)
What about weeds, which represent the cares of the world and all the things we desire? In soil that is full of weeds, the gospel seed’s spindly growth will get choked out and be unable to bear fruit.
18 And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word, 19 but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. (Mark 4:19)
The gospel seed is not the problem. It is the soil that needs constant attention. Not just during one season, but good, fertile soil is necessary to produce crops that will ripen for harvest for all the generations to come.
20 But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirty-fold and sixty-fold and a hundredfold.” (Mark 4: 20)
A farmer’s life revolves around the soil: tilling, planting, weeding and pest control, irrigation, fertilization, harvesting, and preparation for next year’s crop. All this work pays off as the same soil, when cared for and replenished, can produce healthy crops year after year.
The following advice found on a soil services web site:
“If there are concerns about your soil fertility or if you experience very low crop yields,
then soil testing should be performed annually to help identify the problem.”
- Is God calling each of us to do a soil test?
- Has my attention been distracted by the (many, many) concerns of this world?
- Am I holding on to sin that I need to let go?
- Do the desires of my heart line up with a life that is given totally to Jesus?
- Am I fertilizing the soil of my life with prayer and reading scripture?
- Am I living fully the life I have been called to live, even when doing so is difficult?
- Have I allowed bitterness to take root in my life?
But we, like the disciples, come to God asking for further clarification. “This is hard work. How can we possibly maintain healthy, Christ-like soil?”
We cannot. But God-in-us can. (Mark 4:20)
In Him, we sprout, flourish, and bear fruit.
We pay attention to whose field we are in.
We Grow in God’s Field.
Kathleen S Evenhouse 