A Season of Harvest Day 6: The Good Soil

Jesus was teaching them many things in parables, “Behold, the sower went out to sow and some seed fell beside the road. The birds came and ate it up. Other seed fell on the rocky ground where it immediately began to spring up. And when the sun rose, it was scorched and it withered. Other seed fell among the thorns and yielded no crop. But some seeds fell into the good soil. They grew up and yielded a crop one hundred times as much as the other seeds.” Then Jesus explained this parable, “The sower sows the word. Those who are beside the road hear the word, but Satan takes it away. Those who are in rocky places immediately receive it with joy! But because their root is only temporary, when affliction comes, they fall away. Those who are among the thorns hear the word. But the worries of the world, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desire for other things choke that word. They become unfruitful. Those who are in the good soil hear the word and accept it. They bear fruit one hundred times as much as the other hearers. From Mark 4: 2-20

The eagerness of the new believer is a wonderful thing to spur us on to more emotion in our own spirituality. God came as a baby and when He continually comes in His resurrection body and shows us something new, we are filled with joy and enthusiasm for such blessings. The energy we feel from serving God and being His voice can be exhilarating! But in His parable Christ cautions us that when something springs up too quickly, it may just as easily fall away and fail to thrive or produce a harvest.

The central meaning of this parable: the soil is what matters most!

I have a good size garden in my backyard and rarely buy lettuces, veggies, potatoes, onions, garlic or herbs. At the end of last summer I harvested almost 200 sweet potatoes and 20 pounds of peanuts. Freshly roasted peanut butter is such a treat! Most people ask how I garden with such salty and sandy soil where I live by the beach. Sandy soil is not mentioned in this parable, but few plants really do well in it. So, I built an above ground garden, with a foundation of nutritious, good soil that I have been adding to each season as it becomes depleted. When I had chickens, I made my own plant-loving, nitrogen-rich soil, but I am still able to compost scraps that come from my kitchen and greens from the yard.

Good soil doesn’t just happen! If we want to harvest the fruit of His Word in our lives, we will need to prepare our foundational soil and be alert so that we experience continual growth. We must be cautious about valuing speed over putting down deep roots.

Lessons from the parable of the soils:
Be careful of Satan and people who are bad influences (v 15).
Root yourself in good habits and people who are good influences (v17).
Ground yourself in an eternal perspective to weather hard things (v19).

Some of the specific things the parable points out to prepare for are: Satan, affliction, persecution, the worries of the world, the deceitfulness of wealth and desire for other things.

Choose one “good soil” action for your spiritual growth and implement it this week.

Master Gardener, You are also the Lord of the Harvest. Show me how to ground myself in You. I thank You for the growth I have seen in my life. Keep it steady and fruitful for You. Thank You for the good soil of Your Word. Amen.