The Good Soil (Luke 8:8, 15)

Other seed fell into the good soil, and grew up, and produced a crop a hundred times as great." As He said these things, He would call out, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear."

But the seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word in an honest and good heart, and hold it fast, and bear fruit with perseverance. (Luke 8:8, 15 NASB)

The good soil. What a wonderful analogy!  This soil is fertile, watered, and free of rocks and thorns. The imagery is one of rich, well-tilled garden soil. When the seed lands in this rich earth, it sprouts quickly, grows rapidly, and produces both a lush, healthy plant and an abundant harvest. 

Our lives of faith are supposed to be like the seed that lands in fertile soil. Everything we need to be successful and productive in our faith has been provided. Our job is to keep our heart free of those rocks and thorns, keep the living water flowing, and allow growth to occur. It's our job to stay close to Jesus so that we can become all He intended. 

Note that it is success in our faith and productivity in our faith that is the goal, not success by the world's standards. We who are so abundantly blessed in material things can easily forget that most of our brothers and sisters in Christ around the world walk out their faith in far different circumstances. Many of them would say that the relative poverty and persecution they face allows fewer distractions and a closer relationship with Christ. 

At the end of our lives, the question will not be how much "stuff" have we accumulated, but how much faithfulness have we exhibited and how much fruit have we borne. 

Let's take a look at our own lives today. Do we have "fertile soil" in our hearts? Are there thorns, rocks, or drought that hamper our growth? Are we bearing fruit?  What changes do we need to make?

Pray today that we and our loved ones would have such fertile, well-watered soil that we would consistently, constantly bear fruit. 

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