1 On that day Yeshua went out of the house, and sat by the seaside. 2 Great multitudes gathered to him, so that he entered into a boat, and sat, and all the multitude stood on the beach. 3 He spoke to them many things in parables, saying, "Behold, a farmer went out to sow. 4 As he sowed, some seeds fell by the roadside, and the birds came and devoured them. 5 Others fell on rocky ground, where they didn't have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth of eretz. 6 When the sun had risen, they were scorched. Because they had no root, they withered away. 7 Others fell among thorns. The thorns grew up and choked them: 8 and others fell on good soil, and yielded fruit: some one hundred times as much, some sixty, and some thirty. 9 He who has ears to hear, let him hear." [Matthew 13:1-9 HNV]
A small area of my yard just couldn’t seem to get going. The grass always seemed sparse in that spot, no matter how well I watered it.
So one day I stuck a shovel into this troublesome real estate and discovered the problem: Just below the surface was a layer of stones about three inches deep. This led me to replace the stones with rich topsoil in which new seeds could take root.
Jesus talked about seed and soils. In a parable in Matthew 13 about what happens when the seed of the gospel is sown on various kinds of ground, He said that seeds that land on stones and “not much earth” grow quickly but then die in the sun (vv.5-6). He was speaking of one who has heard and received the gospel, but in whose life the message doesn’t take root. When trouble comes, this person—who is not a genuine believer—falls away.
How grateful we can be for Jesus’ words that conclude this parable: “He who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the Word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit” (v.23). What a reminder of both the privilege and the responsibility that accompanies our salvation.
Praise God for the seed of the gospel and the soil of spiritual growth.
Lord, I would be soil in which You can plant
Your Word with its promise of fruit;
I want to be open to You every day,
So what You have planted takes root. —Hess
A heart open to God is soil in which the seed of His Word can flourish.
Taking Root
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