Working the Soil of Your Life

Scripture — Mark 4:3–8, 14–20 (NRSV)

“Listen! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell on a path, and the birds came and ate it up. Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and it sprang up quickly, since it had no depth of soil. And when the sun rose, it was scorched, and since it had no root it withered away. Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. Other seed fell into good soil and brought forth grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.”

The sower sows the word. These are the ones on the path where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them. And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: when they hear the word, they immediately receive it with joy. But they have no root and endure only for a while; then, when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away. And others are those sown among the thorns: these are the ones who hear the word, but the cares of the age and the lure of wealth and the desire for other things come in and choke the word, and it yields nothing. And these are the ones sown on the good soil: they hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.”

Devotion

Do you want to live a fruitful life? Do you want your life to contribute to the good of this world, not to mention the goodness of God’s kingdom?

I expect you answered “Yes” to these questions. We are wired from the beginning for fruitfulness. It’s part of our psychological, even spiritual, DNA. You’ll recall God’s very first instruction to humankind: “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it” (Genesis 1:28). “Be fruitful” shows that we were made for this and, even though sin has confused our desires, we yearn for fruitfulness nevertheless.

Jesus’ so-called Parable of the Sower, or, perhaps, Parable of the Soils, assumes that fruitfulness is something desirable. The seeds that fell on good soil “brought forth grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirty and sixty and a hundredfold” (Mark 4:8). In his interpretation of the parable, Jesus explains that some listeners to God’s Word are “ones sown on the good soil: they hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirty and sixty and a hundredfold” (4:20). Jesus, his original audience, and those of us who hear his parable today, understand that bearing fruit, especially abundant fruit, is a very good thing.

Following the line of this parable, what is required if we are going to live lives of abundant fruitfulness? There are at least three key ingredients. First, there is the sower, the one who communicates God’s Word to us. This could be a human sower, perhaps a preacher, parent, or friend, though ultimately God is the one who broadcasts the Word through human agents.

Second, there is the seed, the message, the good news of the kingdom of God. We will live lives of maximum fruitfulness when we have heard and responded favorably to this gospel, and have chosen to live with God as our true king.

Third, there is the soil. For the seed of God’s Word to flourish, it must be planted in good soil, that is to say, in people who are receptive, willing, and eager to have the Word grow in their lives. Good soil doesn’t just respond with a momentary emotional reaction to the gospel. Rather, it provides a context for God’s Word to grow deep, thus producing roots that are essential for abundant fruitfulness.

Recently, I’ve been reminded once again of the importance of good soil for healthy plant growth. In the last four months, I’ve done a lot of gardening around my house, tackling projects I’d put on hold for a long time and adding some new ones. One of those new projects has included planting flowers in our front and back yards. I just walked around and counted. I’ve planted 111 new plants so far this season. Some of them are flourishing, growing impressively, and producing colorful flowers. Others are doing okay, but not nearly as well. A couple of the plants I added died. What made the difference? In almost every case, it was the quality of the soil. If I was planting in a location where I could prepare the soil well and add nutritious amendments, then the plants in that spot would flourish. But in places where the soil was either very rocky or densely rooted, and therefore impossible to improve very much, the plants are barely getting by.

Now, when it comes to the Word of God in our lives, we have the opportunity to prepare, amend, and work our soil, so to speak. We can choose to receive the seeds of God’s truth as they are planted by various human sowers. We can make sure they are well-tended rather than ignored. We can water those seeds with the living water of Jesus. We can pull out weeds of temptation or prune off thorns of sin. We can keep our soil relatively free from that which will inhibit the growth of the seed of the kingdom of God in us.

In one major way, my recent gardening effort is an inadequate metaphor for how best to care for spiritual soil. You see, I did all that gardening alone. After getting some guidance from my wife, I rerouted several underground sprinkler systems (!), worked the soil, bought the plants, planted them, watered, fertilized, and deadheaded plants that had bloomed. (Deadheading is removing the faded or dead flowers from a plant to encourage more blooms in the future.) I was glad to do this work by myself. It was challenging to my mind, encouraging to my heart, and nurturing of my soul.

But, and this is so crucial to understand, spiritual gardening is almost always something we do with our fellow gardeners, that is, with our brothers and sisters in Christ. Some of the best spiritual soil preparation happens in community through worship, teaching, small groups, spiritual direction, daily devotions, retreats, mission trips, prayer support, podcasts, reading, and so on. If you are eager to have soil in which the Word of God will flourish, work on your soil with others, even as you work with them on their soil.

Find all Life for Leaders devotions here. Explore what the Bible has to say about work at the High Calling archive, hosted by the unique website of our partners, the Theology of Work Project. Reflection on today’s Life for Leaders theme can be found here: Parable of the Sower.