Better the Soil, Better the Crop
I slept better last night and was able to even rest well this morning after being up for a while. I was able to get myself going and made a trip to Lakewood to assist in the celebration of the life of Louise Robb. It was a special “family” service. Son-in-law Dave lead the service and the music and reflections on her life included a variety of family members. It was a special time of sharing about the life of a much-loved lady, whose legacy was a life of faith and faithfulness. My connection with Louise and her late husband Gene and their family goes back to my childhood years when we attended the same church. It was an honor to be able to participate. (picture of me with Louise’s son, David and daughter Judy and her husband Dave)
BIBLE VERSE FOR TODAY…. “Others are like the seed planted in the good ground. They hear the teaching and accept it. Then they grow and produce fruit—sometimes thirty times more, sometimes sixty times more, and sometimes a hundred times more.” Mark 4:20 (NCV)
My garden is struggling. I’m not sure if it is the abundance of rain, the soil or the gardener. After our heavy spring rains, I did notice when I tried to work the soil that it didn’t break up as much as I had anticipated. So, I just buried the seed beneath the clods of dirt. It’s pretty bad when you can’t get squash to grow! Good soil is the foundation of a good garden that grows and produces.
This parable of Jesus, sometimes called “The Parable of the Sower” talks about four types of soil. The seed that is sown falls on “the path” some falls on “stony ground” other seed falls among “weeds” and some seed falls on “good ground.”
When Jesus explains the parable to His disciples he tells them the “seed” is the “Word of God” The seed on the path represents that which is “stolen by Satan.” The seed on “rocky soil” is that which never develops because there is no opportunity for roots to grow. Jesus said, “they don’t allow the Word to go deep into their lives.” The seed sown among “thorns” is choked by “the worries of this life, the temptation of wealth, and many other evil desires…”
As I was thinking about the varying yield, “some 30, some 60 some 100 fold” I began to consider that all “good” ground is not always the same. A patch of ground may have its hard soil, rocks and weeds as well as good ground. In order for the Word of God to grow a richer harvest in our lives we need to make sure we are “conditioning the soil” of our hearts.
We need to be aware when truth is just rejected because it is hard to hear or we are in a challenging place in our life, and so we allow it to pass us by. We need to be aware of God’s Word that is being choked because we lose our focus and our minds and hearts are drawn away to the priorities of the “world” and we give in to worry. We need to be aware when we only allow God’s Word to remain on the “surface of our life.” We are admonished to be “doers of the Word and not hearers only.” (James 1:23)
When we hear or are confronted with God’s Word, we must listen and receive it into our lives and to allow it to be applied to our life so it begins its work in our life. Then we need to resist allowing our hearts and minds from being distracted from living by that truth. That is when we will see the greatest “harvest” of God’s Word in our life.
The “fruit” that comes from God’s Word is what allows us to experience God’s best for our lives and to be ready to share with others what the Lord can do for them.