Luke 8:4-8a – While a large crowd was gathering and people were coming to Jesus from town after town, he told this parable: "A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds of the air ate it up. Some fell on rock, and when it came up, the plants withered because they had no moisture. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown." (NIV)
Spring has sprung, and with it, my thoughts stray to gardening. As we will be living in a new home this spring, one without an established garden, I wonder what the soil will be like. I am hoping that it will be good soil, but I really have no idea.
The important thing, though, is that I know that poor, neglected, or bad soil can be made into good soil. With the proper cultivation, fertilization, water, and nutrients, what was not suitable for growing a good crop can be transformed into good soil that yields a wonderful harvest.
Our spiritual lives are similar. They can range anywhere from rocky, hard, dry, and weed infested, to good. It all depends on what we are cultivating and adding to them. Do the habits that I already have or that I am considering adding to my life improve and grow my desires for God and my relationship with Him, or do they foster worldly views and actions? What is my daily routine like? Does it set aside time for the spiritual: Bible study, prayer, fellowship with other Christians, and positive practices like healthy exercise and good eating choices?
What we put into the soil of the earth makes a huge difference as to whether or not that soil is being built up to produce healthy vegetation and crops. What we put into the soil of our spiritual lives does likewise. It either grows our relationship with God or it takes away from it.
For good soil to remain good, it must also be carefully tended year by year, as the growing of crops and weather conditions can easily deplete the soil, turning the soil from good to mediocre or even useless.
Our spiritual soil must also be cared for to ensure that it not only remains good but also gets even better year by year. So, let's keep a close check on our spiritual lives. Let's remember to cultivate, feed, water, and enrich them with the nourishment of God's Word, fellowship with other Christians, prayer, study, and taking time to appreciate the beauty of the created world around us, giving glory and praise to the One Who has blessed us with such delights.
Prayer: Father God, thank You that each one of us can be good soil — the kind of soil that produces a rich harvest for the blessing of others as well as for Your eternal kingdom. Help us to remember to feed our spiritual lives daily by cultivating truth and goodness into them. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.