Good Soil: Part 4 (Luke 8:8,15)

And other fell on good ground, and sprang up, and bare fruit an hundredfold. And when he had said these things, he cried, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience. (Luke 8:8, 15 KJV

The fruitful, good soil of the heart is much more than simply being a nice person. It is even more than being pure in heart. The good soil of the heart is only possible because of the work of the Word of God in that heart. The word translated "having heard" is akouō and indicates hearing with your ears and your heart. It indicates both hearing and understanding. 

It is not enough to simply read Scripture, or even to memorize a mountain of verses. Knowing what the Bible says is of limited value if you do not understand what it means. This "good soil" heart, however, goes further than just understanding in general. The one who is fruitful also understands what is meant in terms of his/her own life. 

It is one thing to understand that "fret not" indicates we should not worry and fret about troubles. It is another thing entirely to read those words and understand that you personally are to stop dwelling on and agonizing about a specific situation, and to know with certainty that those words are meant for you. When we "akouō", the Scripture becomes real to us, the literal Word of God for us personally. 

Hearing and understanding bring us to another critical point. Keeping it. The original word is katechō and does not at all mean we understand the Word and keep it to ourselves. Katechō means that we seize the truth we understand and hang on to it for dear life, just as a drowning man clings to a life preserver. It means we do more than hear, more than understand, more than recognize its truth in our lives. It means we embrace the truth and obey that truth, even when it is difficult. 

Is that how we approach Scripture? Do we read the Word of God to understand what it means and how it applies to our lives? Do we read it with the intention of not just understanding but also obeying?  

Pray today that we and our loved ones would have an akouō heart that understands and a katechō will that obeys. 

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