July 9th Weekly Word

Good Soil

"Listen! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell on the path, and the birds came and ate them up. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and they sprang up quickly, since they had no depth of soil. But when the sun rose, they were scorched; and since they had no root, they withered away. Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. Let anyone with ears listen!" (Matthew 13:3-9)

In 2017, I traveled to Africa with a team from Wycliffe Bible Translators. Part of our journey took us to a region inhabited by the Alagwa people, where I captured the photo above. The Alagwa live in 15 villages in a geographically remote area in the hills and mountains of central Tanzania.

Although a river winds through the lowlands, the higher regions often face severe water scarcity, forcing families to walk miles each day in search of enough for their basic needs. As subsistence farmers, water is equally essential for their maize and millet. Farming among the Alagwa is anything but easy.

In our upcoming Gospel reading, Jesus shares a parable about farming where the conditions weren't ideal either. The seed that the farmer sows falls on all kinds of soil, most of which isn't amenable for growth. Whether shallow, dry, or thorny soil, the results are the same – the seed cannot take root and bear fruit. But some seed fell on good soil, and the crop that emerged was bountiful.

In this parable, Jesus correlates the sower to the one who shares "the word of the kingdom." The seeds represent the message, and the soil, the hearts of people who hear the word.

Jesus here is communicating that many hearts are not prepared to respond to the word in a way that produces fruit. But those that are will be used by God for great impact.

The question that comes to my mind when I read this parable is how do I cultivate my heart to become good soil for God's word. Now, Jesus doesn't necessarily give us a formula for that. But if we pay close attention, we can see that he gives us tips for soil tilling by sharing some key details about those who's hearts are like the unfruitful soil.

For the first two types of soil, what we see is a shallow engagement with the word.

The soil of the path represents those who don't understand the word, and thus have it stolen from them by the enemy. The thing is, sometimes understanding involves pushing deeper and spending time in study and prayer. When we don't do that, we risk not internalizing the message God is speaking to us and thereby losing the fruit that God intended.

The rocky soil also involves a lack of depth. Although at first, the hearer seems to receive the word, trials and troubles quickly undo any fruitfulness that may have otherwise appeared. Jesus says these people have no root in themselves. This comes down to fear and ultimately valuing the world's ways of comfort and seeming safety over following Christ — which often involves challenges and sometimes even persecution.

Then Jesus tells of the thorny soil, where the cares of the world and the desires for what the world has to offer choke out any increase that could have potentially emerged. This one is tricky because I think we can still appear to do the Christian life without actually letting go of these values. Sometimes it takes honest self inventory to determine if we're allowing these worldly thorns to creep in and choke out the work that God wants to do in us and through us.

But friends, Jesus tells of another kind of soil, and that is "good soil." I don't know about you, but I want more than anything for my heart to be ready to receive what God has to say and as a result to be used by him to produce a great increase — whatever that might mean for my walk with him and the ministry he's called me to.

If you want that too, please take a minute to pray this prayer with me this week.

Almighty God, who gives seed to the sower and water to the thirsty land, prepare our hearts to be good soil for your Word. Deliver us from shallowness, fear, and the thorns of worldly desire, that we may receive with depth and understanding the message of your kingdom. Grant that, rooted in Christ and nourished by your Spirit, we may bear fruit in abundance—thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold—to the glory of your Name and the blessing of those you call us to serve; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.