Hi, Zane.
I hope you take time to read this parable Jesus tells about four kinds of soil. I think it offers a kind self-examination checklist toward helping us understand which kind of soil we are and which kind we want to be.
A guy called this morning to remind me of an appointment I had forgotten—to run to his place to pick up a load of logs from a lot where he intends to build. I scrambled and made it to his place and back. I have already off-loaded the logs. Now onto other points on my huge list…
Have a great day. Love and prayers—Tua/Ray.
The miraculous reality of plant life is not invented by the soil. No amount of dirt could ever think up a seed that grows, even though the seed needs the dirt in order to grow. All the dirt can do is to offer an environment that nurtures the growth of the seed. Bad soil causes the miracle of the seed to either utterly fail or to impair the seed’s growth potential. But good soil causes the seed to grow and thrive toward productive maturity, yielding fruit way beyond its singular status. Thus, the validity of the old proverb—“You can count the seeds in an apple, but you can’t count the apples in a seed.”
Here is the root of the matter—HEALTHY PRODUCTION REQUIRES HEALTHY SOIL THAT ALLOWS HEALTHY ROOTS TO DO THEIR WORK. And if we can accept that we as individuals are represented by the soil (that’s all we are, you know—just compositions of dirt) in this meaningful parable told by Jesus, then our personal responsibilities and job descriptions are clarified. So new believers must not be content to simply receive the Gospel message, maybe pray a sinner’s prayer, and presume they are good to go indefinitely. They must be devoted (via devotions) to a lifestyle of nurturing the planted seed of the Spirit by means of daily ongoing discipleship—reading God’s Word, thinking God’s Word, praying God’s Word, applying God’s Word, and sharing God’s Word. That’s a recipe for maintaining good soil—without which the Gospel seed cannot grow.
There is something else here worth noting: What is true of a new believer is also true for an old one—that is, for the believer who has believed a long time—perhaps having already developed deep roots. But here’s the deal—soil, over time, can turn stale and sterile, even polluted with toxins and harmful chemicals that cause ROOT ROT and impair the ongoing health and growth potential of the seed. The bottom line point is this: There is no substitute, whether a new believer or an old one, for the ongoing personal discipline (discipleship) of cultivation, weeding, watering, and replenishing of essential soil nutrients.