Formation | Tuesday | 10/20

What Kind of Soil?

Matthew 13:1–9, 18-23 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. ² Such great crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat there, while the whole crowd stood on the beach. ³ And he told them many things in parables, saying: “Listen! A sower went out to sow. ⁴ And as he sowed, some seeds fell on a path, and the birds came and ate them up. ⁵ Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and they sprang up quickly, since they had no depth of soil. ⁶ But when the sun rose, they were scorched, and since they had no root, they withered away. ⁷ Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. ⁸ Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. ⁹ If you have ears, hear!”

¹⁸ “Hear, then, the parable of the sower. ¹⁹ When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what is sown in the heart; this is what was sown on the path. ²⁰ As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, ²¹ yet such a person has no root but endures only for a while, and when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, that person immediately falls away. ²² As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of this age and the lure of wealth choke the word, and it yields nothing. ²³ But as for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”

Jesus tells a story about a farmer scattering seeds.

Some fall on a path. Some on rocky ground. Some among thorns. And some fall into good soil.

The seed is the same.

What changes is the environment.

Some environments make it difficult for the seed to take root. Others allow it to grow for a while before competing forces choke it out.

But in good soil, the seed takes root, grows, and produces fruit.

Jesus is talking about the Word of God and the conditions in which it is received.

And perhaps the most challenging soil to consider is the thorny soil.

The seed actually grows there!

But eventually, other things crowd it out.

That's an unsettling picture of our spiritual lives.

We can genuinely love Jesus, desire to follow Him, and experience His grace while simultaneously allowing so many other things to compete for our attention that our faith struggles to grow.

Our lives don't necessarily have to be filled with bad things for this to happen.

Sometimes they're simply filled with too many things.

The problem isn't always that we're pursuing the wrong things. Sometimes it's that everything is competing to become the most important thing.

And in that competition, the Word of God can slowly become crowded out.

Reflect: 

If your spiritual life were soil, would you describe it as hardened, rocky, thorny, or good? What is competing for space in your life?

Pray: 

Jesus, help me recognize the things that are crowding out your Word. Give me a heart that is receptive to your grace and a life in which your Word can take root and bear fruit. Amen.