In many ways, spring blooms into summer in an exponential, almost explosive way. But as any farmer or gardener can attest, the harvest is the result of meticulous and patient planting and watering. What seems like explosive growth is often the visible result of long unnoticed and invisible work.
Jesus often spoke about matters of planting, farming, and soil. He used the imagery and examples that people would most connect with and relate to. We have many examples of Jesus discussing the Kingdom of God in this way: mustard seed, vineyard, laborers, etc. But the most well known of all Jesus' parables and sayings about farming, is the parable of the sower, seed, and soil.
45678"Listen! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and it sprang up quickly, since it had no depth of soil. And when the sun rose, it was scorched; and since it had no root, it withered away. Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. Other seed fell into good soil and brought forth grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirty and sixty and a hundredfold." Mark 4:3-8
Like all parables, this can be interpreted in different ways depending on where the emphasis is placed. From the perspective of the sower, the parable might suggest that God's love is given to everyone everywhere always. From the perspective of the seed, the parable might suggest that God's word, while given to all and accessible to all, doesn't always take. There are some people who do not respond to the word positively and others who initially respond but lose interest over time. Finally, from the perspective of the soil, this parable might suggest that if we are good soil, God can cause exponential positive growth in our lives. This exponential growth not only makes our life closer to God, but gives us the ability, out of God's bountiful abudance of blessing, to bless others.
It is this final intepretation I find most intriguing. For me, the question becomes: how do I become good soil? How can I keep from becoming rocky, thorny, or shallow? What must I do to prepare myself for exponential spiritual growth?
Our farming analogy is quite helpful in trying to understand how to become good soil. Farmers and gardeners spend a great deal of time cultivating and caring for the soil; tilling, fertilizing, and watering. Successful planters do a lot of prep work to ensure a bountiful harvest. So it is with our spiritual lives. We too must take time to cultivate our relationship with Christ. We must spend time in prayer, time in scripture, time in worship, and time with fellow Christians. We need to work on our relationship with God, we must put in effort and energy, we must be disciplined and focused, if we want expontential spiritual growth.
I pray that God's seed of love, grace, and mercy continue to be sowed generously in your life, and that God might prepare your heart to be good soil, producing a bountiful harvest of love in the world, AMEN.
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3 comments:
This blog really seemed to hit home for me. I feel like there are so many times that I struggle with my faith. Like your blog suggests, I wonder what kind of soil I am. I know God is there for me and I try to do the right things to make my faith grow, yet there are times I just don't know if I'm doing 'it' right. I hear people constantly talk about praying and talking to God and they say how they've 'heard' what God was saying and how it helped them know what to do or how to make good decisions. I pray and try to talk to God about everything, but I don't feel like I'm hearing Him or getting the answers I need. Am I doing 'it' wrong and if so 'what is IT'? I'm trying a new bible study and thought that would help me to see things clearer and get more connected, but when I try to do something as simple as the daily homework I feel MORE stressed and disconnected. The book asks me such specific questions, and I just don't seem to know the answers. Am I just not ready to fully hear God yet? I know things are done in God's time, not mine ... maybe I'm just too impatient. Thanks for the insightful thoughts though.
great questions. I know how frustrating it can be to want to have all the answers to the key questions of faith and hearing silence. I will simply say, in response your post, that we are all on a unique journey--there are no two of us who experience faith the exact same way. It is a journey with peaks and valleys, but also a unique one which we must each travel for ourselves. The flip side of this is, we must not become frustrated when our journeys don't look or feel like the faith experience of others. Since our life experiences, perspectives, background and personalities are all different it is important to not get caught up in comparing ourselves with others, particularly if it causes us to feel inferior. We are all specially created by God who loves for who we are and wants us to discover God's amazing love and grace for ourselves in our own way.
i know its almost 2 years later against these other blogs, however, its interesting to me. im a back sliddin christian.. IN SIN for years now. This morning i was listening to friend about some goofy seed pods, she said that the seed was not there, i said but this pod is a seed, not even interested in what she was saying and i made a half caring comment " seed never dies, it will always be there, it's the soil and then a question was posed to me "how about the soil of your heart? God? i can only assume so.. Hence why i'm reading your comments about the soil of a person's heart, trying to get some understanding of how to make the soil in my heart good so that i can once again live right for God.
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