Testing the soil

 Testing the Soil

A farmer went out to plant his seed. As he scattered it across his field, some seed fell on a footpath, where it was stepped on, and the birds ate it. Other seed fell among rocks. It began to grow, but the plant soon wilted and died for lack of moisture. Other seed fell among thorns that grew up with it and choked out the tender plants. Still other seed fell on fertile soil. This seed grew and produced a crop that was a hundred times as much as had been planted!

LUKE 8.5-8

Did you know you can take a bucket full of dirt from your yard to a laboratory and have it tested to see what it needs to grow plants better? More important, did you know we are supposed to have the soil of our hearts tested?

Jesus described hearts as having different kinds of soil. And he said we need to examine or test the soil of our hearts if we want his Word to take root there and grow into a crop of right living.

For some people, the soil of their hearts has been hardened by disappointment and doubt. Their hearts become calloused when they are pricked over and over by the truth but they fail to respond. For others, the seed of God’s Word falls on hearts with shallow, stony soil. These are people who respond enthusiastically to God initially but never allow his Word to run deep and take root in their lives. When the heat of hardship beats down on them, there is no deep inner strength to face it.

All of us find the soil of our hearts infected at times with thorns and weeds. Our lives become so easily cluttered with time-wasting and soul-absorbing things. We find ourselves sitting in church thinking about our plans for the afternoon or rushing through our devotions so we can get on with “more important things.” This type of heart soil is dangerous and deceiving, as we may hardly notice the weeds of empty pleasure and activity growing up around us. The weeds choke out the true seed of God’s Word before it can grow into something beautiful and fruitful in our lives.