The seed and the soil

Scripture:
"The kingdom of God is like a man who casts seed upon the soil" (Mark 4:26)

Over the last couple of days I have been meditating on the parable of the sower in Mark chapter 4. On a challenge of a teacher, I am trying to saturate myself with this chapter and the two parallel chapters in Luke 8 and Matthew 10, to understand what Jesus was telling us in this parable.

Very briefly this parable is about a sower who threw seed on four different kinds of ground,

1. on the roadside where satan comes and takes the seed away,
2. on rocky ground where there is not enough earth for good roots and the sun scorches it
3. on ground with weeds that choke the seed
4. on good soil that produces 30, 60 and 100 fold

Now we know that the seed represents the Word (Mark 4:14) and that each one of the four different soils have different characteristics that either inhibit the seeds growth or produces many fold of new seed and fruit.

Having done evangelism work, as a missionary, I have always looked at this passage from a perspective of sharing my faith using the Word of God, believing that not all the seed falls on good ground and I have always thought that I really could do nothing about it. That is, I was the sower and what happens, happens.

Recently, however, I have been beginning to understand, that this parable is not necessarily talking about evangelism of the "seed" but about the different kinds of "soils", a person's heart, where the "seed", God's Word, is sown.

The first type of soil, "along the road, the seed is immediately picked up by Satan. " (v.15) Meditating on this I can only wonder, how is it that the seed never had chance to germinate, well because Satan is right there in a persons life and takes the seed away. That is, the Word of God is somehow brought into a persons life and because that person is involved in very bad things that could very well include Satanic things, that (1) their hearts are too heart, because they are on the roadside where people trample the road and it gets very, very hard and (2) evil, sinful, even satanic influences come along right away and counter what the Word of God says and that person never really even gets a chance to understand the Word.

The second type of soil, the soil with the rocks in it, does germinate in the soil, almost immediately, and there is much joy, but the soil, a man's heart, is not very deep and has many "rocks" that make it so that good roots do not form. That is, there are many things in a persons life that make it so that as soon as trials and difficulties come as part of everyday life, like the son, the seedling is scorched and dies.

The third type of soil seems to have good soil from the beginning, but there are weeds with thorns there that choke the seedling when it is young. These weeds are

1. the worries of the world
2. the deceitfulness or riches
3. and the desires for other things (v.19)

These weeds or thorns, strangle the Word that is beginning to grow in a mans heart and ultimately they do not bear any fruit.

The forth type of soil is not trambled down nor has evil around it, does not have rocks in it, does not have weeds in it and bears much, much fruit.

Now what I am meditating on is this, that since seed runs the risk of not germinating and growing properly so it bears fruit, shouldn't I be doing something to prepare the soil of my heart so that the fruit of the Word will grow in my life?

For example, if there was some "rock" in my heart that I have never dealt with like some unforgiveness, shouldn't I try to remove it? Or shouldn't I try to stay away from the weeds of the world or greed, or selfishness, or at least "weed" my heart when it begins to influence me, maybe even "spray" by staying away, from weeds that will choke the Word of God in me. And I guess I am assuming that we all know to stay away from the evil things that takes the seed away from our hearts almost immediately.

So I ask the question. How to I get to be the good soil where the seed of the Word of God will grow and bring much fruit.

1. Avoid evil and a hard heart
2. Take out the rocks in my life
3. Stay away from the weeds of the world and the flesh
4. Let the seed do its work

Because "the soil produces crops by itself" (v.28)

"He who has an ear, let him hear." (v.19)

Request:
That we would prepare our hearts for the seed and that we would sow the seed of the Word of God in our hearts more and more.

Prayer:
Dear Lord, we have ears and we want to hear and understand what your Word says. we will do our part to prepare our hearts and read & meditate on your Word. Do your work in us and grow the Word in us, to make us the Children of God you want us to be. In Your Name, Amen