Good Soil

(“But what was sown in good ground means one who listens and understands the message; he bears fruit and yields, one a hundred, one sixty and one thirty-fold.” Matthew 13:23

The Christian life is to be wildly productive, not mildly passive. Jesus tells a parable describing what happens when the truth about Jesus (the Word of God) is spoken to different people. Some are like a pathway where the seed falls and barely begins to grow. Some are like stony ground who hear the message and quickly get exuberant about it. But they quickly fall away when it appears this life is more difficult to live that they first thought. Then there is the thorny ground. They do well for a while, but soon the distractions of life keep them from really living at all. Like weeds, the distractions choke out the very life they could possess.

But the seed that falls on “good” ground sprouts grows strong and quick, bearing incredible amounts of fruit; up to 100 times as much as was planted. Christian, we are to be good ground. We are to receive the word, not only “hearing” it but also truly “understanding” it. Many are satisfied with “hearing” it once, and then thinking that is all there is to a renewed life.

We must remember that “understanding” this new life in Christ will take a lifetime. When we make Him the priority, truly wanting to know Him well, something extraordinary happens within. We are no longer the same as we once were. We are also becoming far different than the world around us.

Now, by that, I do not mean we go to fewer movies, dress better on Sundays, and have traded in our “Hooters” bumper stickers for fish stickers. These all are nice results of finding Christ, but far less than the fruitful living described in this parable.

To be saved requires simple faith. But, to thrive in our Christianity, there is necessary effort. My daughter has been accepted at Washington State University. They have even given her a substantial scholarship. She is, in essence, a student at WSU.

But to remain a student she needs to apply effort. She must attend classes, study the assigned work, and read the resources. Those who “understand” their work become more than mere “students”, they become “scholars”.

It is unfortunate that there are many who prefer simply being students. As long as they pass, leaving them time to party and fill their life with other personal desires, they are content. But the ones who fly above the rest, desiring to know their subject because they want to excel, they are the ones who bear fruit.

It is exactly the same for the Christian. Why did we ever get to the place where a “sinner’s prayer” was all that was required to identify us as believers? I can think of quite a number of identifiers from the New Testament, none of which can be found listed on the last page of a four page tract.

We are told that true followers can be known by their incredible love for each other. Jesus makes clear that real “scholars” have moved from self-love to the greater love for enemies. James tells us that faith, without any work to show for our faith, is not faith at all. He would be a little surprised that people would hold up a signed and dated piece of paper with a two-paragraph prayer as evidence of their Christianity.

I want to flourish. I want to “understand” what I hear, not just regurgitate what I’ve been taught over the last 35 years of walking with Jesus. There is not time to let up. I want to know him deeper as long as I have breath. I want to know Him more intimately as long as I have a beat of my heart remaining. I want yield 100 fold.

Don’t take these words to mean that every failure along the way is evidence I am not a Christian at all. No! Indeed, many students struggle, not quite grasping a new concept. But, it is the student that seeks help, enlists a tutor, makes an appointment with their teacher, it is this student who flourishes.

It is what we do at that very point of discouragement that indicates how fertile our faith really is. Faith that is rich, like black earth and loam, continues, over the long haul, to produce the flowers, vegetables or fruit-trees than any other soil. It has been cared for, nourished, and kept free of rocks and weeds.

Is your Christianity wildly productive? Do you surprise yourself at your own progress? Or, when you don’t understand some part of following Jesus, do you just give up with the whole thing. Let’s produce fruit by the basketful! Let’s be Christians who always have plenty to share when people come looking. Let’s be disciples whose fruit is always ready, even out of season, to nourish the hungry souls of those that seek us out.

Today may be the day when we discover the joy of a harvest so abundant we cannot keep even a portion for ourselves. We find we must give away most of our produce because we can never eat that much ourselves. May this be the day upon which we not only hear the word, but actually begin to understand.