If you are like me, you have probably heard the old saying,
“If you don’t like how I drive, stay off the sidewalk!”
Okay, time to start today with a confession. Yesterday, I was driving through the Walmart parking lot and almost ran over a lady who was standing partially in the road and partially on the sidewalk. It was scary and its not what you think…I couldn’t get over. Had she not dove into the arms of her husband, it could have been really bad. She got up and stared at me. I stopped to see if she was okay and her husband said it was fortunate that I was able to swerve…okay, here is the lesson behind this…when you pay attention to the road, there are always going to be things that will cause you to turn left or right…things that you don’t want to hit because it will cause damage. Damage to you and damage to others.
Interesting story huh? Jesus would tell stories to the masses of people that would follow Him and they would become confused by the stories and what He was actually trying to teach. Even those closest to Him had a hard time deciphering what He was trying to teach in the story.
I want you to understand, even those closest to Christ, sometimes, have hard times understanding what He is trying to say. Nevertheless, we should always try to live according to His will and His ways. Today, I want to share with you a thought that I got from looking at root systems. Without strong Biblical roots, living the life that Christ wants you to have can become a huge uphill battle.
READ: Luke 8:4-18
In this passage, Jesus tells of 4 different types of soil. Here is what I find interesting about these soils…I really think He was speaking about 4 different heartitudes of people. Yes, I just made that word up…Heartitude=heart attitude…now…back to the devo.
4 Types of Soil (Hearts)
- The hard soil(vv. 5, 12). This soil represents the person who hears the Word but immediately allows the devil to snatch the seed away.
- The shallow soil(vv. 6, 13). This soil illustrates the emotional hearer who quickly responds to the message, but his interest dies and he does not continue (see John 8:31-32).
- The crowded soil(vv. 7, 14). This soil illustrates the person who does not repent and “weed out” the things that hinder the harvest. There is enough soil so the roots can go down, but not enough room for the plant to grow up and produce fruit.
- The good soil(vv. 8, 15). This soft alone is fruitful. It illustrates the individual who hears the Word, understands it receives it within, is truly saved, and proves it by patiently producing fruit (see 1 Thess 2:13; 1 Peter 1:22-25).
I want you to understand, not everybody produces the same amount of fruit (Matt 13:8), but all true believers will produce some fruit as evidence of spiritual life.
My Caution to You: Don’t Assume You Are Good Soil!
“I think most American churchgoers are the soil that chokes the seed because of all the thorns. Thorns are anything that distracts us from God. When we want God and bunch of other stuff, then that means we have thorns in our soil. A relationship with God simply cannot grow when money, sins, activities, favorite sports teams, addictions, or commitments are piled on top of it.” – Francis Chan
What gets me about this story is that 1 in 4 of the soils are “good” soil. Only 25% of the soils produced a desired result. Think about that. You can read the parallel version of this story in Matthew 13. In that account of the same parable, Matthew, records that some produced “30, 60 and 100 times” what was planted. If we look at it in the negative, then 75% of Christians won’t produce anything. My prayer is that you are not in that number. I want to be a 25% soil.
How do You make sure you are good soil?
What “things” do you need to weed out of your life in order to be the best soil you can possibly be?
Prayer: God help each of us to be good soil. Help us to take your Word and be lights to the world. Help us to produce the desired results that you want us to produce. Amen.
oneguyseyes 