This past week I did a lesson on the Parable of the Four Soils, which I thought went really well! I just find it to be such an important issue because many of us know or have become the four soils for better or worse. Not everyone can receive the good news, or sometimes they do it just does not work out because their heart is not ready. So without further adieu, Lets look at what Matthew had to say about it...
I am not going to pay attention too much to 1-3, because it is not extremely relevant to what I am getting at. Verse four is when everything begins to become interesting since we are faced with the seed on the path. Jesus describes it as someone who does not understand the word, and it is snatched away. I asked the group what makes a person hard soil? We agreed that it had to do with hurt, abuse, and toxic faith. As we went along, we discussed ways in which we can identify and reach people with hard hearts, and how we can help ourselves. Hard Soil requires tilling. When we are trying to help ourselves, we have to consider who we associate with, what we allow in our lives, and allowing ourselves to be loved. Usually, hard hearted people are pretty distant, sometimes depressed, guarded, and often times brutally sarcastic. I am never one to preach at people, so I have always tried to love people unconditionally, be patient with them, and to share my life experiences and encourage them.
The next group we talked about is the Rocky Soil. When I brought out my pot of rocky soil, it was easy to see that the seed could not go down very far before hitting a rock. This showed how it is really shallow. Jesus describes this as the person who receives the word, often times with much zeal, only to fall away when persecution comes. It really makes you think about the depth of the person in question. Often times it is not their fault, but the good thing is that depth can be fixed! Removing the stones is crucial. This requires encouraging when they want to fade, educating to show different perspectives, and keeping them focused when stuff starts to fall apart. People with Shallow Hearts have a pretty distinct flavor to them. I tend to think of the disciples as prime examples. They were all about Jesus being a revolutionary who would oust the Roman authority, but when it came to him sacrificing himself, it was a different story. Also, when we think about how they would panic (Peter denying Jesus, Jesus calming the storm), they needed depth. The tend to be flighty, erratic, superficial, and insecure. But with time and stabilization, they can become healthy as the stones are removed and replaced with good soil.
The third soil is the thorny/weed filled soil. When we think about weeds, the words that come to mind are demanding, greedy, selfish, and aggressive. As I placed the seed in the pot, it was easy to see that the weeds were there to choke out the plant as it grew. Jesus explains these weeds as the wealth and worries of this life. Weeds, much like sin, does not like any other master, and tends to demand nutrients, light and other needs and has no problem taking it at the expense of the plants around them. This is why the thorny soil is symbolic of a selfish heart. When I find weeds coming up in my life, I ask myself questions... "Is this worth it?", "If it were to be destroyed tomorrow, how will I take it?", "how does this impact my ability to function?" In this case, we must be careful to refocus those around us so that they can see the effect that it is having on them, while using your strength to remove and alleviate the choking weed. Removing the weed from the root up is crucial! If the root stays, so does the weed. But with careful removal and refocusing, this soil can be weed free!
Finally, the good soil is a soil that is free of foreign substances. This person produces good fruit, whether it is from their actions or words. They not only hear and understand what is being said, but they APPLY it. They love themselves and give from the overflow of that love. These are the characteristics of a healthy heart.
To end with, I think it is important to be able to apply what we learn. Try to look at your own life and see what type of soil you have, and what actions you must take to clean it out need be. The second thing is to look at those around you and see if you can identify their hear, and see if there is a way to possibly help them out.
