What’s Your Soil?
Mark 4:13-20: “And he said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables? The sower sows the word. And these are the ones along 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: the ones who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy. And they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away. And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.”
The famous Parable of the Sower has always been a source of fear to me, not knowing which soil I myself am. Sometimes I find myself relating to the rocky ground that heard the word, immediately received it with joy, but finding myself not too deeply rooted when tribulation or persecution arises. At other times, I relate to the thorny soil, which bears some fruit but the cares of the world and deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, proving it unfruitful. While at yet other times, I think of myself as being the good soil bearing fruit - however, fear comes over me when I consider whether the fruit I’m bearing is thirtyfold, sixtyfold or a hundredfold - which, by my judgment I’m certainly far from it.
There is sinfulness in my ways, for sure. I’m guilty of being both the rocky and the thorny soil at various times in my life after my salvation. It has been 19 years since God saved me on my bed of pain and suffering. I ought to have been more mature by now, well-versed in Scripture, learning and being able to teach. Yet, I still find myself becoming dull of hearing, returning to the elementary doctrines of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God. I ought to have been more mature by now, having my powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil (Heb. 5:11-6:1). Yet, here I am. I often find myself looking more like a sinner, a fool, devoid of wisdom, not fearing God enough but taking advantage of His compassion and long-suffering patience with me. His love is indeed too great for me to comprehend. If anyone else was God, I would have certainly perished a long time ago.
Now, in my devotions today reading the Parable of the Sower in Mark 4, I noticed something for the first time. As Jesus explains the parable He says that when the Word is preached to the sinner, the very next thing that happens is “Satan immediately comes” (4:15). It is the seriousness of this truth that I think most of us tend to underestimate. Satan is fully devoted to destroying God’s good work that begins with the preaching of His Word to all. The test of belief and faith is in the response that our hearts give to the preaching of God’s Word. Unbelievers are those who reject the Word, and they prove their unbelief by the way they live. Unbelievers are those who get distracted by the worries of this world, or the pleasures of this life, and the numerous idols of their own making. While believers are those who - with consistency - fear God, hate evil, exhibit a nature of love, repentance, and forgiveness. They are those who bear fruit according to the good Word sown in them - multiplying it thirtyfold, sixtyfold, and a hundredfold.
Perhaps, the key word in understanding this parable is “consistency”.
Consistent lack of faith and consistent disobedience is ultimately evidence of unbelief.
Consistent fear of God and consistent obedience to His Word is evidence of faith in Him that is credited to us as righteousness.
Indeed, we are taught this truth in several passages of Scripture. Psalm 1 describes the “Blessed man” (a.k.a., the Believer/ the Christian) as one who “delights in the law of the LORD and meditates on it day and night” and as one who is “like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither.” Jeremiah 17:7-8 echoes this same thought describing the “Blessed man” as one “who trusts in the LORD” and as one who is like “a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.”
The message is indeed consistent across Scripture. True faith is evidenced by consistent obedience that stems from a heart that fears God and loves Him.
Yet, it is also important to remember that God’s promises are based on HIS ultimate faithfulness to us, His chosen people for whom His Son Jesus died. As evidenced in His covenant with Abraham in Genesis 15, Abraham’s descendants will be numerous as the stars because God Himself has prepared a people of faith in His unfailing love (like Abraham), and believe in the One whom He sent to redeem them from their sins. While believers may certainly exhibit seasons of unfaithfulness towards Him, God remains faithful to His promises and has taken it upon Himself to ensure that we will remain in HIM by His Almighty power, keeping us from apostasy, from falling away into perdition, IF INDEED we have been truly saved by grace through faith in Christ’s finished work on our behalf.
God knows our frame, that we are weak and burdened by a sinful nature that will afflict us until we leave this body of death. Let us remember these words of our God in Jeremiah 17:9-10:
“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?
“”I the LORD search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.””
Once death takes us over to eternity, we will be finally free from our sinful nature that is tied to this body, and we will live in holy perfection for all eternity in the Presence of our Savior and LORD. Thanks be to God that our eternal heritage is based not on our works, but on the perfect works of Jesus Christ, our Substitute, our Elder Brother, our LORD and King. But as long as we are in this body, let us strive to be consistent in holiness and live like the “Blessed man” is expected to live while here on earth. Christ Jesus is that ultimate “Blessed man” and He has shown us that is is indeed possible for us to live by the Spirit and strive for greater holiness which leads to an abundant, fruitful life for the glory of God and for our own good.
