The 4 Soils of your heart

The 4 Soils of your heart Matthew 13:3-23 3 Then he told them many things in parables, saying:”A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. 9 Whoever has ears, let them hear.”

10 The disciples came to him and asked, “Why do you speak to the people in parables?”

11 He replied, “Because the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. 12 Whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. 13 This is why I speak to them in parables:”Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand.14 In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah:” ‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.

15 For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.’

16 But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. 17 For truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.

18 “Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: 19 When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. This is the seed sown along the path. 20 The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. 21 But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. 22 The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful. 23 But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”

Lets look at what this means for us.

Sowing the seed

What are the seeds? The seeds are the Words of God. This is the Message of God, The message of Jesus. That God loves you so much, He came to the Earth: to Live a perfect life and Teach us what we need to know, to Die in your place so that you don’t need to pay for your own sins. That He Rose again from the dead, defeating death and sin, that we may have a New Life in Him. That He ascended into heaven again to make a place for you, and that He will come again to bring His own home to Heaven.

What are the Soils?

These soils represent the hearts of people, and how one receives the message (seeds) God speaks to them.

The Road or Hard soil

The Rocky soil

The Thorny soil

The Good Soil

The Road or Hard soil.

This is the heart of one who hears the message but doesn’t understand or care to understand. Jesus tells us that the enemy come and takes the message away from their hearts before it can take root. In The Screwtape Letters C. S. Lewis talks about this, giving some possibilities as to how the enemy does this. One example he give is to remind the man that it’s lunch time. The man is now thinking of food and his mind is no longer on the topic of God’s message to him. In any case the message though heard does not take root, there is no relationship made between the one hearing the message and God, no Connection at all.

The Rocky soil

This heart hears the message and is excited about it. They feel eager to serve and want to accept the message. Then hard times come. They find that their family and friends do not approve of this new faith. They could meet with real physical danger, or maybe just unkind or harsh remarks from others. This proves to be too much for them. They liked the Message but don’t care for it enough to stand against their family or peers. The message took root in their heart but it was a very shallow relationship they allowed with God, therefore He is the one to go when bad times come.

Thorny soil

This heart hears the Message and really does like it, they feel convicted and start a real relationship with God. They grow, they serve, they try to follow. But then they think of the things they want more than God, money, higher education, better jobs, new opportunities, nicer thing. And in the end their love of the world is greater than their love of God. Oh they still like God, but as long as He stays at the Church. They may pray, but only when they want their new things. And slowly but surely even these things come to an end, as the cares and worries of the world take complete control of their life.

The Good soil

We now come to the Good soil, and true to it’s name this is a heart good and ready for the message of God! They hear the message and are so struck by it that they give their life over to God, they ask Jesus to roll over their life and serve Him whole heatedly. The fears of what others may think of them are gone, the fear of danger or hardship no longer mean anything, and the worries and cares of worldly things have become meaningless. The things that are important are the things of God, and they seek to carry those things out. Because of this, their lives changes so drastically that they can’t help but share God’s Message with others, and many also receive Him.

What now?

All this being said if there is one whose heart is not yet soft and ready to receive the Message of God, there is still hope. Hard soil can be made soft, rocks can be removed, and thorns can be pulled up. Until the day that you die God will work in your heart through His Word, His servants and anything else that you need, to bring you to a place where you accept His message. Not only for them, but even those whose hearts were already good and ready for Him. God will even work in you, to keep the thorns and rocks out, or to help remove them when they come. He will always be tilling your heart to keep it from getting hard, if only you let him.

So Ask yourself. How is my heart? Am I the hard soil, unwilling to hear the voice of God? Am I the rocky soil, ready to accept but unwilling to suffer in any way? Am I the thorny soil, ready to accept and grow, but unwilling to fully let go of the things of the world? Or am I the good soil, ready and willing to leave everything behind, to brave any danger for my love of God? Will I produce much fruit? Or am I letting my relationship with God die?

Only you and God know your heart, but only He can bring peace to your life and cause you to become fruitful.