No doubt, you’ve heard the story many times. Jesus tells the parable of the sower who broadcasts seeds: on the path, on rocky soil, amongst the thorn bushes, and on fertile ground.

 

The seed on the path is trampled on and quickly snatched up by birds. The path is a popular place filled with the commerce of life, with careers that challenge and so many things to consume. But it’s difficult for the seed of life to grow there. For us, it is “in one ear and out the other,” a sermon forgotten before the car reaches home.

 

The seed on the rocky soil shows promise when it sprouts, but it fades and dies in the hot sun. And so the hope of the gospel too often fades and withers in the heated trials of our lives. We question God’s faithfulness when things don’t go our way. Hope starts to rise within us when the spirit moves us to tears. But the tears are quickly wiped away and hope forgotten.

 

The seed that grows among the thorns is crowded out. There is no room to grow because there is too much competition for light and nutrients. Like my flower bed that became choked out by wild raspberries the years I was sick, our lives are so filled with other things that crowd out the presence of God. So focused on pursuing our life dreams, we forget to wake up to the reality of our life purpose. Worry grows and crowds out faith. Anxiety spreads to choke out peace. Envy and greed smother the space for contentment to grow. It seems the only solution is to till the ground and remove the thorny things that crowd our life garden.

 

And then there’s the seed that falls on fertile, receptive soil, a soil that gives of itself freely and completely to the creation and nurturing of new transformational life. One small seed transforms into a large tree that bears much fruit. Another grows into a head of wheat that feeds a child. Another bears beauty to behold in a world scarred by ugliness. The good soil is productive and filled with purpose and power to sustain real life.

 

Is that the type of soil that characterizes your life? It could be. Where hearts are receptive to God’s light, a life grows and transforms into something quite great. It bears up under the storms of life. It overcomes disease. It takes its daily nourishment and strength from being rooted in God’s truth and grace. The fertile soil is cultivated by the regular plowing of God’s Word, refreshed with the living water of God’s truth,  and filled with his goodness.

 

Whatever soil you’ve been in the past doesn’t matter. Today is a new day. Yield all of it to God and watch how he grows your heart in a most magnificent way.