The Good Soil

The Good Soil 

By Emily M.

I have been using a hoe and machete, or panga in our language, to dig my little garden, when it suddenly hit me. The parable of the sower... it mentions that the seed fell into good soil. I then asked myself, what makes up good soil? 

Matthew 13:3-9 

“A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. Whoever has ears, let them hear.” 

To be good soil is a process. The first thing was to get rid of all the weeds. Some were easy to remove, others were so hard they gave me blisters, some were so smelly and others plain old scary. Now you have to do this well and sometimes it takes a second or even third digging. 

Matthew 13:18-23 

“Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. This is the seed sown along the path. The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful. But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.” 

I relate this to our Christian life. There are sins in our life if let to grow turn our good hearts into something else. They even look harmless sometimes. To be a good soil where 

“out of your heart flows good issues of life” (Proverbs 4:24), then there is some digging to do.  

No one says it's an easy task, but you have help in the form of the Holy Spirit.