Being Prepared Soil

Luke 8:11-15

“Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. Those by the wayside are the ones who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. But the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away. Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are chokes with cares, riches, and pleasures of life and bring no fruit to maturity. But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience” (NKJV)

In this parable, God’s Word is the seed and we are the dirt. This analogy is really profound because we are made up of dirt. We were created from the dust of the earth which is where we will return. God’s word, the seed, can grow in us but it all depends on how much we accept it. There are four examples of seeds shown; there is the ones on the wayside, the ones on the rock, the ones in the thorns and the ones on fertile soil. So I asked myself which one am I?

But it isn’t that simple, for the seed is constantly being casted. All of us at one time or another have listened to God’s Word and then have casted it “by the wayside”. We are all guilty of hearing a Sunday sermon and then walking out of church not receiving the message. We all have also soaked up a Sunday sermon with joy and conviction, but then temptation and distractions pull us away so we forget the message. But sometimes we don’t even receive the message in the church because of our “cares, riches and pleasures of life”. Of all these seeds, there is only one that is impactful; the seed that falls on the fertile soil, which is heard with a seeking heart that is able to keep it and bear fruit.

So the question for me isn’t “Which soil am I” but rather “What soil (or church scenario) am I most guilty of being?” and “How can I change this?”. Just as all soil needs to be weeded and prepared, so do we before we receive the gospel. To be prepared before I am seeded, today I am going to pray for God to ready my heart before every sermon and to make sure I do this Julio is going to keep me accountable.