“A sower went out to sow.”
By Amy Clackum
How green is your thumb?
When it comes to plants, I have a black thumb. It’s true. Whenever someone gives me a plant, my teenage daughter says, “Oh, that’s so sad. It’s coming home to die”. I wish she were wrong.
I am not a cultivator of anything green. But I have lived on a farm for the last 20ish years of my life, and so I have learned a little about planting, care, and harvesting. I have learned that the soil matters!
And he told them many things in parables, saying: “A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up since they had no depth of soil, but when the sun rose, they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away. Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears, let him hear.” (Matthew 13:1-9, ESV)
Think about a seed for a moment. Look around you. From where I am sitting right now, I can see tall, green trees and lush green grass. Every single thing growing around me started with a seed. A tiny millimeter that has within it all the needed information and instructions to grow strong and healthy.
In the parable, Jesus told, the seed represented the truth of Himself and all He has accomplished on our behalf. This truth about Jesus, like a seed, must be planted in our hearts, but not all ground receives the seed. Why? Because the soil matters.
Four Soils of the Heart
What type of soil is in our hearts?
Hard Ground
One doesn’t need a horticulture background to understand that the best place to plant a garden isn’t in the middle of a highway. The path’s ground is packed hard from pressure, heat, and many travelers. Jesus tells us what happens to the seed when it falls on the first type of soil, the hard ground of the path.
Maybe the sower was careless or from the city, but the seed was sown in vain because there was no place for the seed to begin to enter the soil. The seed lay unprotected from the weather and was an open invitation for any bird to have a free lunch.
What a saddening statement when we look at the soil of our hearts. There wasn’t even an inch of available space for a seed to fall in, and the enemy knows whose hearts are like the path. The enemy stays close, waiting to steal away any truth planted.
What do we do when we find someone whose heart is so hard the soil is not habitable for God’s Word?
We begin with prayer, asking the Master Gardner to till up the hardened soil of their heart. We continue to live and share the gospel with these people, hoping their heart’s ground will be soft enough for the seed to sprout one day. Our living example of who Jesus is creates a way where there is no way for the truth to be planted. “I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert” (Isaiah 43:19, ESV).
What if our hearts have become hardened to the truth of who Jesus is?
We begin with prayer, humbly crying out to God to give us new soil! We need to ask Him to provide us with a heart of flesh, replacing our heart of stone. “And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh” (Ezekiel 36:26).
Rocky Ground
Did you know that the roots of a tree extend way past the crown or leafy top of a tree?
A study by Iowa State University revealed that the roots of a tree can extend 4-7 times the crown. The most significant part of a tree is usually in the roots below and not the plant above. The space for a root system is what the second type of soil, the rocky ground, is missing. There was no place for the roots to connect, so the seeds could not grow or sustain what growth did occur above the soil.
“Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up since they had no depth of soil, but when the sun rose, they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away.” (verses 5-6)
The fate of the seed on rocky ground was not based on what happened on the outside, like the hard ground of the path, but the seeds’ fate was determined by what lay deep beneath the surface.
What lies beneath the top layer of soil in our hearts?
Does our soul feel withered from trying to be “a good Christian”? Have we allowed unbelief, fear, or pain from our past to block the truth from sinking deeper?
The key is not to work our way to be “a good Christian” or to let life’s hardship stop us from growing. Jesus explained it this way, “ As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, yet he has no root in himself but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away” (Matthew 13:20-21 ESV).
A heart’s soil deeply rooted in the truth of Jesus and His Word will never wither. “But they delight in the law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night. They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do” (Psalm 1:2-3, NLT).
The key is having a relationship with Jesus that brings us joy and changes everything. Through our relationship with Christ, we make room for Him to come inside our life and allow Him to remove the obstacles that keep us from growing deeper.
Remember the joy from the beginning and keep your joy by allowing Jesus to work on your heart, especially during difficult times. Jesus will cultivate a deep rich soil in your heart as you continue to delight in God and His Word.
I pray that your heart’s soil will be soft and have a depth that invites the Word of God to flourish. I pray that as you become aware of places in your heart that may have hardened or where the trials of this world are trying to choke out the gospel, you can uproot untruth and plant the truth in its place. Ask the Master Gardener for help because He cares deeply for you. So be it, in Jesus’ name.
Meditate: Lord, may my heart be filled with soil hungry for Your Word.
Reflect: What state is the soil of my heart? Do I have hardened places like the path? Do I have rocky soil not allowing for good root growth? Do I need to invite the Holy Spirit to work on my heart so His truth will grow deep and strong in my life? What can I do to grow more in God’s Word?
Deeper: Matthew 13:3-9, 18-23; Psalm 1:2-3; Psalm 119:105, Ezekiel 36:26
Meet Amy: Amy Clackum is the Group’s Minister at Crosspoint City Church in Cartersville, GA. A wife to her rancher husband and a mother to her teenage daughter, Amy partners with Janae Shatley Camp on the Podcast side of God’s Word Gives Hope.
For further encouragement, listen to the PODCAST on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, Google, IHeartRadio, and Podbean. Search God’s Word Gives Hope. LISTEN NOW
Receive Hope Every Week with Janae’s Thrive Newsletter; blog link included – Subscribe here
JSC Life & Leadership Coaching – I believe God has created each of us to thrive. Where are you not thriving? Work? Home? Life? Let me coach you. Contact me to schedule a consultation, and let’s get you moving forward. Contact Janae
Did you know you can follow God’s Word Gives Hope on Facebook and Instagram?
(Bible References: NLT – New Living Translation, ESV – English Standard Version)
#GodsWordGivesHope
#Hope #Bible #christianity
#HeartiCulture #Matthew13
#christianitytoday #goodheart
#JSCLifeandLeadershipCoaching
