Matthew 13:1-9: a reflection

1On that day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the seaside. 2Great multitudes gathered to him, so that he entered into a boat and sat; and all the multitude stood on the beach. 3He spoke to them many things in parables, saying, “Behold, a farmer went out to sow. 4As he sowed, some seeds fell by the roadside, and the birds came and devoured them. 5Others fell on rocky ground, where they didn’t have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth of earth. 6When the sun had risen, they were scorched. Because they had no root, they withered away. 7Others fell among thorns. The thorns grew up and choked them. 8Others fell on good soil and yielded fruit: some one hundred times as much, some sixty, and some thirty. 9He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

Jesus tells the parable of the sower, in which the same seed falls on four kinds of ground. Some falls on the path and is snatched away; some on rocky ground, springing up quickly but withering for lack of root; some among thorns, choked out; and some on good soil, where it takes root and bears fruit, thirty, sixty, a hundred times over. The same seed, the word of God, meets different responses depending on the soil, the state of the heart that receives it; and only the good soil, receiving it deeply, bears fruit.

Notice the different soils, and what makes the difference: the state of the heart that receives the word. The seed was the same in every case; the difference was in the ground. The hardened path, the shallow rocky soil, the thorn-choked ground, all failed to bear fruit, each for its own reason; only the good soil, receiving the word deeply, letting it take root, unhindered by hardness or shallowness or thorns, bore fruit. The difference was not in the word, but in the heart that received it; and the fruitful heart was the good soil, receiving the word deeply and letting it take root.

That is worth taking to heart, for the question for us is what kind of soil our hearts are, and whether we receive the word deeply. We can receive God's word with a hardened heart that lets it be snatched away, or a shallow one where it withers, or a heart choked with thorns of care and desire; or we can be good soil, receiving it deeply and bearing fruit. Ask what kind of soil your heart is, and seek to be the good soil, receiving God's word deeply, letting it take root, guarding against the hardness, shallowness, and thorns that keep it from bearing fruit. Be good soil for God's word, receiving it deeply and letting it take root and bear fruit, rather than the hardened, shallow, or choked ground that fails to bear fruit, as only the good soil in the parable bore fruit thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold; for the fruitfulness of the word depends on the heart that receives it, and we are to be the good soil that bears fruit.

Lord Jesus, you tell the parable of the sower, in which the same seed falls on four kinds of ground. Some falls on the path and is snatched away; some on rocky ground, springing up quickly but withering for lack of root; some among thorns, choked out; and some on good soil, where it takes root and bears fruit, thirty, sixty, a hundred times over. The same seed, the word of God, meets different responses depending on the soil, the state of the heart that receives it; and only the good soil bears fruit. Show me the different soils, and what makes the difference: the state of the heart that receives the word. The seed was the same; the difference was in the ground. The hardened path, the shallow soil, the thorn-choked ground, all failed to bear fruit; only the good soil, receiving the word deeply, bore fruit. The difference was not in the word, but in the heart that received it. Take that to my heart, for the question for me is what kind of soil my heart is, and whether I receive the word deeply. I can receive your word with a hardened heart that lets it be snatched away, or a shallow one where it withers, or a heart choked with thorns of care and desire; or I can be good soil, receiving it deeply and bearing fruit. Help me ask what kind of soil my heart is, and seek to be the good soil, receiving your word deeply, letting it take root, guarding against the hardness, shallowness, and thorns that keep it from bearing fruit. Help me be good soil for your word, Lord, receiving it deeply and letting it bear fruit.