“This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God. The seed along the path are those who have heard and then the Devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. And the seed on the rock are those who, when they hear, welcome the word with joy. Having no root, these believe for a while and depart in a time of testing. As for the seed that fell among thorns, these are the ones who, when they have heard, go on their way and are choked with worries, riches, and pleasures of life, and produce no mature fruit. But the seed in the good ground — these are the ones who, having heard the word with an honest and good heart, hold on to it and by enduring, bear fruit.” (Luke 8:4-15 — Holman Christian Standard Bible)
Jesus frequently used parables — examples from daily life — to explain deep spiritual truths. Only those who took the time to meditate on their meaning would see the truths hidden in the details, others would simply see them as common stories, dismiss them, and walk away with nothing.
This is possibly the most well known parable of Jesus and deals with a serious subject: hearing the Word of God. After telling the parable Jesus called out, “Anyone who has ears to hear should listen!” In the seven letters to the churches in Revelation 2 and 3 Jesus again repeats the exact same words at the end of every letter, “Anyone who has an ear should listen...” In other words, God speaks but its up to each one of us to decide whether or not we are going to listen. If we choose not to, how far do we seriously expect to get in life? And if we do listen, our steps will be guided by the Almighty Himself. The problem is, only those of us who have genuinely died to ourselves are able to say “no” to the voice of our hearts and “yes” to the Word of God.
Each of us fits into one of the four types of soil — the path, the rocky soil, the thorns, and the good soil. All four hear the Word of God, but not all four benefit. The seed falls in all four types of hearts, but only one produces a crop. Any one of the three bad soils can turn itself into the good soil as long as that person is ready to go beyond simply hearing God’s Word.
If the three bad soils were typical problems in the time of Jesus, they are even more so today. Hardheartedness, being superficial, worry, an obsession with riches, and an addiction to pleasure are the trademarks of today’s society. But God is looking for good-soil-people, and when He finds them He is going to cause them to bear fruit.
Decide right now that you will either become the good soil, or that you will continue to be the good soil.
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