Good Gardens Need Good Dirt

Matthew 13:1–9 NET

On that day after Jesus went out of the house, he sat by the lake. And such a large crowd gathered around him that he got into a boat to sit while the whole crowd stood on the shore. He told them many things in parables, saying: “Listen! A sower went out to sow.And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. Other seeds fell on rocky ground where they did not have much soil. They sprang up quickly because the soil was not deep.But when the sun came up, they were scorched, and because they did not have sufficient root, they withered. Other seeds fell among the thorns, and they grew up and choked them.But other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundred times as much, some sixty, and some thirty. The one who has ears had better listen!”

What is Discipleship?

You may recall in my last sermon I said we were going to spend these next couple of weeks talking about discipleship. You may also recall, if you stayed awake until the end, that I said discipleship is a word that’s been used to mean a lot of things, and sometimes nothing at all. But then I didn’t define the word. I just left you with a bunch of questions about whether your life glorified God. Well, that’s certainly a part of the answer.

But in basic terms, Discipleship is just the process of learning, and then applying what you learned.

Any time the word “disciple” is used in the stories of Jesus, it comes from a Greek word that means “learner.” Learners were expected to follow in the footsteps of their teachers. So all those times in the Bible Jesus says “Come follow me,” and then someone becomes his disciple, the exchange is basically Jesus saying “Come learn from me,” and then the person becomes one of his learners, or students.

That sounds pretty good, right? We like learning. Well, sort of. We don’t always like the process of learning, but we certainly like the idea that there is some set of steps we could take which would yield our having new knowledge, or a new skill.

But as with any other area of life, there’s learning, and then there’s learning.

High School physics - calculating the final location of a baseball based on its point of origin, velocity, spin rate, drag, and gravity.

vs High School sports - making the baseball do all that.

Real learning transforms us. It changes us. It shapes us. And in order to be transformed, we must first be prepared. We have to be good dirt.

[talk about the parable] Some dirt hard and unreceptive. Some good on the surface but awful underneath. Some very fertile, but already planted with something else. Some good dirt

Good dirt has been cleared of unwanted plants. It’s been worked and loosened so it’s ready to receive seeds. And it’s not just well prepared on the surface, but deeply enough to support good roots. As we seek to be learners of Jesus, the soil of our minds, our hearts, and our souls needs to undergo a process of tilling. Of preparing. of Digging. Which brings us back to DIGG - Does It Glorify God? Does your life glorify God making space for learning and growing? Does your mind glorify God, but being receptive to Jesus’ teachings? Does your heart glorify God by allowing those teachings to take root and transform you from good dirt into a beautiful garden?

Does It Glorify God?