It's All About the Soil

Good Gardening

Growing up and adulting in the MW, I learned a lot about grass and landscaping. I have taken care of lawns since I was 12. But, it was a good day when I gave my lawn mower and trimmer to my daughter who lived in Houston at the time before we moved here. I don’t really miss it.

Grass and landscaping I understand, gardening vegetables, that’s Sara’s jam.

We’ve lived a couple of places where the soil is rich farmland. N. Dak. and Ind. In fact, we were the first owner of our house in Ind. The subdivision was built on what had been a farmer’s cornfield. There were still old corn cobs around the property. Sara had a huge garden in that back yard.

Here, the rocky soil is terrible for gardening. So we built a raised-bed garden. It would be pointless to plant in the rocky soil around our house.

Soon, she outgrew one, so we built a second.

Here’s a pic. You see all the green, healthy plants in their.

This is all Sara. I do a little grunt work. But that’s it. I watched her research how to start a garden and how to prep the soil and maintain it. She does great work out there and we get delicious vegetables.

The soil is the most important part. Gardening is really all about the soil.

When we first built the gardens, she used a method called something about lasagna. She layered things.

We threw big rocks in first. About a foot or 2. These help w/ drainage. Next was a layer of newspaper and straw. Then a layer of dirt. Then the topsoil which is loaded w/ nutrients to feed the plants.

Then, every fall, after everything is harvested, she mulches the soil and preps it for next year. The snow packs on top and decomposes the mulch feeding the soil. In the spring, she puts a layer of top soil w/ the nutrients again. Mixes it all up before she plants.

Every year the nutrients in the soil need to be replenished.

She plants some things late winter and others in the spring. She has a watering system set up. All on a timer.

She has pulls all the weeds. The weeds will suck the nutrients out of the soil and prevent the vegetables from developing.

She has to kill bugs. Aphids and ants. They eat everything down to the nubs and we won’t get anything.

We live in a forest. Animals, birds, squirrels, and rodents

She has a vole this year in the her old garden. That a cross between a mouse and mole. It tunnels around the garden and has eaten her seed potatoes preventing the plants from growing and developing our eating potatoes.

There is chicken wire around the sides and bird netting across the top that keeps the birds and squirrels out. She had a javelina get in the first year. 4’ walls, it hoofed its way up and in, plopped down in the middle and ate its way around. Josephina enjoyed her own personal salad bar.

We live in a forest. Deer. Elk. And everything else.

She rotates her crops, for the soil. She plants different vegetables in different places each year b/c they all take different things from the soil. If she did the same plants in the same places then the soil would adapt in a bad way.

When we lived in Indiana, the farmers in the area rotated corn w/ soy beans. They paired up and kept the soil healthy.

You’ll notice in the picture the thick green plants that are doing so well. Those are beans.

We have a neighbor behind us who is quite the engineer and carpenter. He built a beautiful garden.

Here’s a pic.

Elaborate wood sections, watering system, netting, pave stone, it’s beautiful. Sadly, his wife has had some med issues so he has not been up much since he built it. So, he is allowing Sara to use it.

You see how beautiful it is.

Notice the areas where there are just a couple of little green plants. Those are the beans that Sara planted there. But not nearly as successful. Why?

She thinks it’s b/c his soil is too loamy, too sandy. It doesn’t retain enough water to feed the bean plants so they die out.

But, notice the big tomato plants and potato plants. They are thriving in the hot dry conditions. It’s all about the soil and what plants do better in dry condition and what plants need more moisture.

Gardening. It is all about the soil. The prep and maintenance of the soil has a huge role in the growth of the plants and development of the fruit.

And as many gardeners and farmers harvest their crops, they eat some, save some for seed next year, and share or sell the rest.

Our spiritual lives are like a garden. The soil is important. The prep work and maintenance of the soil is the most important part of developing healthy fruit.

Everybody is responsible for their own soil, not that we do the work. We are responsible for allowing Jesus into our dirt to establish and maintain the nutrients in our soil.

Those who don’t won’t understand those who do. When we harvest our fruit, like gardeners and farmers, we’ll use some and share some.

The passage today is the first parable that Jesus told to begin to prepare his disciples for what life will be like after He’s gone. It’s the parable of the sower. A better title would be the parable of the soil. It’s much more about the soil than the sower.

This parable is written in 3 passages. Mt. 13:1-32; Mk. 4:1-20; and Lk 8:4-15. We’re going to spend out time in the Luke passage today.

Here’s the parable:

The Parable

Luke 8:4–8 NIV

While a large crowd was gathering and people were coming to Jesus from town after town, he told this parable: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds ate it up. Some fell on rocky ground, and when it came up, the plants withered because they had no moisture. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown.” When he said this, he called out, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”

A parable is an analogy, an illustration, a story that makes a practical point that helps us understand a spiritual truth.

Jesus had just come from a discussion where the Jewish leadership had accused him of representing the Enemy. It was the final and ultimate insult. Officially and formally, they rejected Him as the Messiah from God. So, He moved on from them.

From the time He first showed up on the scene, He offered himself to them to believe in Him. Many times over the preceding year plus.

If they had accepted Him, He would have immediately assumed the role of King of the World, subjected all mankind to his rule, welcomed all believers in, and moved all unbelievers out, out of this life and into Hades.

Now, that deal is off, not forever. It’s been delayed. Postponed. It’s still going to happen, but later. Much later. In fact, it hasn’t happened, yet.

So now, we start a section in these books of the bible where there are nine parables about what kingdom life is going to be like in this present age. Jesus sits on the throne in heaven, there is a kingdom, but not a literal kingdom, yet.

Since the literal kingdom will come later, what will life be like now until it does?

This is the first of these 9 parables.

Interestingly, even though the leadership had rejected Him, He still drew large crowds. As a group, Israel pushed Him away. But there were individuals who accepted Him and some who were just curious.

Jesus’s primary audience here are the disciples whom He must prepare for life after He’s gone. Many besides them are listening in. Notice, He starts to teach them as the crowd gathers. He did not wait for everyone to arrive. The principals were already there.

Simply, what He’s about to tell them is, this is what happened to me. You’ve seen it firsthand. And, it’s going to happen to you, too. Don’t be shocked.

This was largely an agricultural society. Some shepherds, ranchers, and fishermen. But they all would have understood the message of this story.

In this story there was a farmer. He had a sack of seed. As he walked around his field, he threw the seed all around by hand, haphazardly.

The time of year for sowing seed was late fall or early winter. The seed would settle into the tilled soil and sprout in the spring w/ the rains. The harvest was in June. The land was allowed to rest until the new seed was sown.

They would plant vegetables, fruit, and grains.

A typical farmer’s field, there would be a road or walking path by the side. Or, maybe even running thru the field.

Next to the path, the soil would not be prepared. It would be weedy and rocky.

So, as the farmer throws the seed. It lands in four different places w/ different types of soil.

Some of it lands on the path where ppl walk. No good.

Some of it lands on soil that has not been cultivated. It looks like good soil. But there is only a thin layer of topsoil over solid limestone. The plants could not put down roots b/c of the limestone and the plant would dry up and wither away.

You can see the rocks in our soil. Not so, in Palestine.

Some seeds land in the weedy areas. The weeks in Palestine grow up to 6’ tall, kind of like our snow pokes.

Old Indian lore says the snow pokes will grow tall enough to poke thru the snow in the winter. IOW, if they are short, then we won’t get much snow. If they are tall, then we’re in for a big snow year.

I think it may have more to do w/ how much rain we got in the monsoons than how much snow we’re going to get in the winter. But, that’s just me.

The seeds that land in the weedy soil, will sprout plants. But the weeds grow faster. And as they grow, they suck all the nutrients out of the soil and the plants will not develop any fruit. They stay small and eventually die w/out any producing anything to harvest.

Then, some seeds land in the healthy, tilled up soil. They sink deep into land. And, in the spring w/ the rain they sprout healthy plants. They produce a healthy crop.

Some fruits, vegetables, and grains are harvested to eat. Some are harvested for their seeds for next year. Some are harvested to be sold and shared w/ others. So, the healthy plants produce and reproduce many times over.

B/C it’s An ag culture, they all clearly understood the parable. But, not everybody understood the spiritual truth that is illustrated by the practical points of the parable.

Why not? Why did Jesus begin to speak in so many parables now? He had taught very few up to this point. But he will use the educational device much more frequently moving forward.

So, why? Why did he speak in parables.

That was the question from the discs. And Jesus answered them here.

Why Parables?

Luke 8:9–10 NIV

His disciples asked him what this parable meant. He said, “The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to others I speak in parables, so that, “ ‘though seeing, they may not see; though hearing, they may not understand.’

He’s quoting Isaiah here. Matthew gives more of the OT passage.

On the surface, it looks like Jesus simply cut them off for no reason. But remember the context. He is over a year into his ministry. He has offered Himself to Isreal repeatedly. His message has been He is the Messiah sent from God and His miracles are proof.

Over and over He offered. They rejected again and again.

So, now, he is speaking in parables.

Any intelligent atheist can understand the agricultural implications of this story. But it is one thing to cognitively be aware, know how biology works.

It’s an entirely different thing to experience the new life that the Word of God produces in believers.

We can talk about distractions and temptations. But to have experienced walking away from Jesus for a time and feeling the unique loneliness of a distance from your Savior cannot be described easily.

It’s like trying to explain to someone who has never experienced the voice of God.

Can you explain in easy understandable terms what God sounds like to you when He speaks. We claim to worship a God who is alive and speaks to us. The HS is a counselor, Guide.

Are we making that up? No.

Communication w/ God is a learned skill. How do you explain this to someone who has never experienced it?

If you have jumped out of an airplane, how do you describe the experience to someone who hasn’t?

I have talked to a couple of ppl who have had death experiences and come back. They describe what they saw, felt, did while they were temporarily dead. I can’t relate. I get it intellectually, cognitively. But I haven’t experienced it to understand it fully.

Jesus is preparing the disciples for what’s to come. Insight into what they should expect. Do not be surprised when more than 3/4 of of the ppl you share your faith w/ reject you. Well, reject Jesus.

But, b/c they have not experienced what you have, they will reject what say and try to describe to them.

Some will immediately reject the message. Some will accept it for a short time, then walk away. Some will accept it, begin to grow, then get choked out.

Others, a few, will accept it, grow in it, and reproduce in others what God has produced in them.

It’s going to happen.

Jesus then explains in more detail what the soils represent and what the parable means so they not only can understand this one. But they will begin to understand how to interpret the other parables he will use.

Only a few times does he give explanations like this. The rest of the time He expects us to be able the interpret and apply the parables accurately.

But, this first time, he gives more insight to the explanation.

The Parable Explained

Luke 8:11–15 NIV

“This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God. Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. Those on the rocky ground are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away. The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature. But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.

There was a farmer, and in this story, Jesus is the farmer.

The seed is the word of God. Much more than words on a page, or words formed in the mouth. The Word of God is dynamic:

Hebrews 4:12 NIV

For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

The Word of God does not sit idly in our brains or expire and go “poof” from our lives. It continues it’s work in us to mature us and make us more like Jesus:

1 Thessalonians 2:13 NIV

And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is indeed at work in you who believe.

In fact, the Word of God is Jesus according to John.

John 1:1 NIV

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

John 1:14 NIV

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Jesus is both the sower and the seed that is at work in the lives of the ppl where it takes root.

The soil is our mind. Our mind is made up of our head and our heart; our intellect and emotion. This is our evaluator. We consider options to choose both intellectually and emotionally.

Whether buying a car, or choosing which way to treat my cancer. There is factual knowledge and feelings involved.

Working together, we evaluate what is our best option, and our will chooses the option our mind has determined to be out best option.

The soil is the most important element in our lives to develop spiritual fruit.

There are four kinds of soil the seed lands on.

The first is the path. Beaten down. Solid as a rock. Concrete. The seed cannot penetrate the surface. Birds pick it up before it can produce anything.

It gets walked on. Implied, abused from the world. Ridiculed. How could you believe such an antiquated, out of date, irrelevant thing.

The Word does not apply to today’s culture. Same sex relationships, abortion, euthanasia, immigration, divorce, sex among unmarried partners, friends w/ benefits, etc.

Surly you don’t think Jesus has anything relevant to say about any of these issues!

Right!

The second soil is the rocky ground.

Unplowed. Untilled. It looks good on the surface. But there is a layer of limestone right underneath not allowing the roots to go deep nor moisture to reach them.

The seed sprouts right away. There is an excitement about following a new leader. But their spiritual roots are not allowed to go deep. There is a spiritual roadblock. The individual does not open their bible, does not engage in a worship service. They may attend. But don’t engage in the music or message. They don’t engage w/ God. They don’t invest in Xian friends. They don’t find a place to serve.

Before long, they don’t feel the excitement they once felt. So, they no longer attend anything, and have returned to their old friends and old lifestyle.

At first it looked like they were in a lasting relationship w/ Jesus. But, it turned out just to be a fling!

The 3rd soil is the weedy soil.

Again, it sprouts. But, good soil attracts bad plants. And, the bad plants can easily dominate the good. The bad plants grow fast and tall. Stealing the nutrients from the soil, preventing the good plants from being nourished.

Fruit takes time. Weeds w/ thorns grow fast. They beat the good plants to the good stuff in the soil. So, the fruit never develops and the plant dies w/out producing anything good.

Old habits. Lifestyle. Old friends. The temptation to get rich. To seek pleasure. Things that make you feel good. Rather than seeking the good things that might be hard, seeking the feel good things that are easier take over.

Some Xians expect life to be easy. Since Jesus loves us, we should be healthy, wealthy, and wise. No poverty, cancer, or divorces.

When health and wealth become the focus of our attention, our priority over Jesus, they choke out good we may produce. And before too long, these individuals give up on Jesus b/c He has not done for them what they expected and wanted.

They may last longer than the 2nd group. But they die out w/out producing anything of any spiritual value.

The 4th soil is the good soil.

Tilled, fertilized, watered, weeded, de-bugged. The good plants grow strong and produce the veggies, fruits, and grain that nourish the soul. Some fruit is consumed, used. Some is saved for later. Some is shared for others to be nourished by.

Peace, joy, patience, kindness, love, self-control, wisdom, power. Gifts like teaching, leading, hospitality, service, mercy, admin, evangelism, and shepherding

Using these resources and abilities nourish the soul of the server and nourish the souls of the served.

Even though there are obstacles all around, they produce healthy fruit.

It’s all in the soil. How do we cultivate and maintain healthy soil?

Romans 12:2 NIV

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

We must allow God to constantly renew our minds. This is an ongoing thing, not one and done. Not conforming but transforming is leaving behind the old bad habits and temptations of our culture. This requires a constantly renewing mind. Being cleansed by the word of God.

Just like Sara maintains the soil in her garden. It’s a repetitive process. She does the same things that maintain the soil’s health. She does new things when new issues arise. But, the bottom line is, the health of the plants, the quantity and quality of the produce, is all connected to the health of the soil.

One other thing I need to address related to this parable.

It is important for us to be theologically correct in our interpretation of what these soils represent.

That said, too many Xian argue, churches split, conflict and divisiveness overwhelm over one issue. The rocky soil and weedy soil, are these ppl who lose their salvation or were they never saved, just appeared to be. Can you lose your salvation?

Here’s the deal. While we fight and argue over this question, there a ppl all around us who desperately need the seed. They need Jesus in their soil. There is enough conflict in their lives they have no interest in joining a group fighting over an issue that does not seem to matter that much to them.

The issue matters. But not to somebody who is desperately trying to keep their head above water b/c they are drowning in life. They need a life-preserver, life-giver; not a life-sucker like a fight over this issue.

My belief is, if your faith is genuine, then it does not come and go. If you have it, you have it. We can’t turn it on and turn it off. I don’t think there is anything you can do to lose your salvation. Salvation is not based in any way on what you do, or don’t do.

If you believe you can do something to lose it, then you have to believe you have to do something else to get it back. And I don’t think you can do anything to get it.

So, no, I don’t believe once you’re saved, you can lose it. But, please don’t argue w/ me while your friends and neighbors need Jesus.

Just focus on maintaining your own soil by letting Jesus renew it all the time. Grow your own fruit. Use your fruit. Share the seed of your fruit w/ those close to you so they can grow their own, too. This is kingdom life in this present age until Jesus returns to establish his literal kingdom on earth.

This is the message of the parable of the sower.

Applications

Maintain your soil

What do you need to do today to allow Jesus to get his hands dirty in your soil?

He must get into your dirt, turn it over, and feed it for it to produce fruit in your life.

Our minds are renewed as we allow Jesus deep into the recesses and corners of our lives.

Sara has to maintain the corners of her gardens.

Where do you need to allow Jesus in that you’ve been trying to keep him out of?

Deep Roots & Pull Weeds

Positively, engage w/ Jesus in the music and message. Engage in you bible and prayer. Engage when you serve and engage w/ your Christian friends in healthy habits.

Negatively, pull those weeds. Get those bad habits and old lifestyle issue out of your soil

What do you need to add to your life? What do you need to pull out?

Stop arguing

Do not let this issue create conflict between you and anyone else.

While we argue, there are ppl close to us who desperately need the seed.

We can talk about it. We can study it in the bible. But we must not fight over it.

Those outside the church, if they are hurting and need Jesus, could care less. Someday I’ll help them figure it out for themselves.

For now, help them be responsible for their soil and share the seeds from the fruit that Jesus has produced in you.

Our spiritual lives are like a garden. The soil is important. The prep work and maintenance of the soil is the most important part of developing healthy fruit.

Everybody is responsible for their own soil, not that we do the work. We are responsible for allowing Jesus into our dirt to establish and maintain the nutrients in our soil.

Those who don’t won’t understand those who do. When we harvest our fruit, like gardeners and farmers, we’ll use some and share some.

Just focus on maintaining your own soil by letting Jesus renew it all the time. Grow your own fruit. Use your fruit. Share the seed of your fruit w/ those close to you so they can grow their own, too. This is kingdom life in this present age until Jesus returns to establish his literal kingdom on earth.