What Type Of Soil Are You?

Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23

Our Gospel reading from this past week’s Lectionary is one of the most familiar parables that Jesus told, the Parable of the Sower.  Let’s refresh ourselves today with the truths of this message that Jesus told His followers.

Frequently the Lord Jesus taught the people by means of parables, which were spiritual lessons or morals that were told, and sometimes hidden, within a story.  Often the parables were told without explanation, leaving the listener to contemplate and figure out the message on their own.  However after Jesus told the parable of the sower to the crowds, He gave the explanation to the disciples privately.  As Jesus was teaching the crowds of people who had gathered, He gave them this parable using illustrations that they would be familiar with, as most of them lived in the countryside.  A farmer is walking through his property, grabbing handfuls of seed and scattering them, where they land on various types of ground with varying results.  This parable is not just an observation of daily life in the country, as it shows a spiritual illustration.

The seed is the Word of God, and the sower is the Gospel evangelist or anyone who tells others the message of Jesus.  The various soils where the seed lands are various types of hearts of the people who hear the message.  One group of seed falls by the wayside, where it doesn’t even begin to take any root, and instead is eaten up by birds.  This seed represents those who have had the Gospel message told to them, but they have hard, closed hearts, and immediately reject and dismiss the Gospel.  The birds are Satan and his servants who snatch the Word away before it can take root in their hearts.  They give no response to the Gospel at all.  We all have seen people like that, who immediately reject or ignore the Gospel upon hearing the message.

The second group of seeds are those who fall upon the stony ground.  There is only a minimal amount of soil on top of the rocks, and though the seeds start to take root, the roots are very shallow.  The seeds sprout, but they quickly wither in the sun because they get very little moisture.  These seeds represent shallow-hearted individuals who quickly receive God’s message with joy, but when a trial comes, they wither away.  They are all emotion, but have worthless roots which cannot keep them grounded during a trial. These represent those who make an emotional, superficial commitment to salvation, but it is not real, not strong.  They abandon their faith when a trial comes their way or there is a sacrificial price to pay.  God uses trials to strengthen our faith.  Jesus said those who don’t truly believe will fall away when afflictions come.

The third group of seeds fall among the thorns and weeds.  This is ground that has not been plowed or prepared, as the thorns and weeds choke out the crop.  When we have a garden, if we don’t take care, the weeds will overgrow and our good plants cannot grow properly.  This represents the carnal, worldly convert, who never breaks with this world.  The world and materialism choke out any true strong faith and belief, and they are unfruitful.  Again, there is only a superficial commitment, but they cannot break with their love of money and the world.

The final group of seeds are those that fall upon good ground.  That is well-plowed and prepared soil.  This represents good, strong, faithful converts.  The Lord wants us to hear, understand, and put into practice His teachings.  His Word should be cultivated in our lives.  It should bear fruit in our life and the lives of others.  A fruitful seed will grow, bearing a good crop.  It will also put forth more seed, just like the sower, spreading the Gospel to others.  We need to be sowing seed in those around us.  Give out what God has put into us.  We need to faithfully sow the seed, and God will produce the harvest.

What type of soil are you?  Is your heart hard and unproductive, rejecting God?  Is it rocky, thin, and shallow, and will wither with the first storm?  Do we have too many weeds of the world in our heart? Or is it good and productive for Jesus?  Jesus gives us all a warning in this parable.  “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!” (vs. 9).  This implies more than just physical hearing, but also an inner, spiritual reception of the truth.  This is a deeper kind of listening that results in spiritual understanding.  Are we listening when God calls us, when He tries to speak to us from His Word?