This last summer we planted our first garden here in North Dakota (truth be told, it was more my wife’s garden than mine). I grew up in Iowa, so gardens weren’t anything new. My family had a garden growing up. I remember getting corn, carrots, etc. from our garden as a child.
Being from Iowa, we took for granted the great soil that we had. It wasn’t until I moved my family to Colorado that I noticed the difference the quality of soil made. The apartments in which we lived had a small area where tenants were allowed to plant their gardens. The couple of years we were there we planted everything from potatoes to watermelon. Even as we began till the soil, we could tell that something was different.
Growing up in Iowa, we were used to the dark, rich soil that covers almost every square inch of the state. However, in Colorado we found something entirely different. It looked like some good soil had been added to the garden boxes provided to us, but there was also quite a bit of sand. The soil didn’t pack together like we were used to.
It’ll likely come as no surprise to anyone in North Dakota that the plants didn’t grow quite as well as we’d expected. Part of that was likely due to our unusual watering conditions. However, I believe much of it had to do with the quality of the soil.
Any gardener knows that if you’re going to have a good yield on your crops, you need to have good soil. This year when we planted our garden in our backyard, we supplemented with some potting soil. We were pleasantly surprised by the yield of this garden compared to our gardens in Colorado. It seemed like every day my wife was bringing in tomatoes or cucumbers. Our pumpkins even took it upon themselves to claim half of the back yard. It’s amazing how much difference good soil can make.
This is a universal truth that is understood by anyone that has ever tried to grow anything. This is why Jesus used this same analogy when teaching his disciples. When speaking in parables, Jesus would use common, everyday things to help explain spiritual truths.
We live in a material world, so it can be difficult to use words from a materially focused world to describe that of spiritual reality. This is why Jesus spoke in parables. He was using material words, through metaphor and analogy, in order to explain the spiritual. It came as no surprise to the people when Jesus told them the parable of the sower in Mark 4:3-8.
If you’ve been attending a church for any length of time, you’ve likely heard a pastor preach on this parable. Jesus goes on to explain the parable to his disciples, so there’s really no debate about it’s meaning. For those unfamiliar with this parable, the seed represents the Word of God.
by James Tissot
The seed that falls on the path is people who hear God’s Word but immediately have it taken from them by Satan. The seed that falls on the rocky soil represents people who hear the word and immediately receive it. However, they don’t develop roots and quickly fall away at the first sign of inconvenience or persecution.
When the seed falls among the thorns, just like with the rocky soil, the word is received and the believer starts to grow. However, the thorns represent the worries of life, money or other things, choke the word making it unfruitful.
Finally, the good soil represents a heart that is ready and eager to receive the Word of God. These people hear God’s Word and joyfully accept it. They are able to put down roots and aren’t choked by thorns. In this soil, God’s Word grows and produces a harvest up to one hundred times what is sown.
As we hear this parable, we in the church tend to focus on the first three types of soil. We look to the hard path, the rocky soil, and the soil with thorns to see how we can help those people to become good soil. However, in so doing, I believe we miss the point.
In the book Crazy Love by Francis Chan, he touches on this parable in a chapter titled, “Profile of the Lukewarm.” Early in the chapter he walks through the explanation of this parable, but instead of taking the normal Christian route of primarily focusing on the first three types of soil, he makes a simple statement that completely transforms how we look at this parable. He prompts self-examination of the reader by simply stating, “Do not assume you are good soil.”
Did you catch that? Do not assume you are good soil. All too often our focus is upon how we as Christians can transform others into good soil. All the while we make the assumption that we are already good soil. Do not assume you are good soil.
If we are not good soil, what kind of soil would we be? If we walk through the different types of soil again, we start with the hardened path. The seeds that fall on this soil aren’t received. If you’re reading this, I’ll assume that you’ve accepted and received the Word of God, so clearly we don’t fall into this category.
Continuing on to the rocky soil, we find those that quickly receive God’s Word but quickly fall away. While it’s possible that many in the church fall into this category, anyone that has been in the church for an extended period of time certainly hasn’t “quickly” fallen away.
If we are not to assume that we are the good soil, that only leaves one type of soil left, and that is the thorny soil. What’s interesting about this type of soil is that unlike the rocky soil in which the plant quickly grows but then withers, the seeds in the thorny soil actually grow. What the scripture says, “Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain.”
Let us then contrast this with the good soil. In the good soil, much like the thorny soil, the Word of God was received. As the scriptures say, “It came up, grew and produced a crop, some multiplying thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times.” Seeds falling on the good soil and the thorny soil grew and survived. They didn’t wither away. However, the seed on the thorny soil did not produce a crop while the seed on the good soil produced a crop up to one hundred times.
What does this mean in our personal lives? If you’re reading this, it’s likely that you are either the good soil or the thorny soil. The only thing that distinguishes these two soils is the fruit that they bear. We can begin to debate about what exactly constitutes fruit. Is it specifically leading people in a prayer of salvation? Is it raising the future generation to follow Christ? Maybe it’s a combination of both as well as other things. Regardless of the fruit, the point is clear. The good soil will produce fruit.
As we look back at this parable of the sower, one glaring question remains. Which soil are you? Don’t assume you are the good soil. Honestly examining your life, would you say that your life fits more with the good soil, or does it better resemble the thorny soil? Do the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth, and the desires for the things of this world crowd out the Word of God and prevent you from producing fruit? The major difference between the good soil and the thorny soil comes down to the fruit. The seed among the thorns grew just like the seed in the good soil, but it was unfruitful. It did not reproduce. On the other hand, the seed that fell upon the good soil grew and produced a crop multiplying itself thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times. Don’t assume you’re the good soil.