Monday Morning Devo--Good Soil

The Parable of the Sower
Jesus said: "Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop--a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. Whoever has ears, let them hear." Matthew 13:8-9 NIV

"Listen then to what the parable of the sower means:
But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown." Matthew 13:23

The first time I remember reading this parable of the sower from beginning to end, I prayed, "Lord, please make me furtile ground where Your Word will take root, grow, and produce a bountiful crop for You." I didn't know what all that would involve. It's a little like praying for patience...

It was no mistake that He compared our lives to so much dirt. As any farmer, rancher, or gardener can tell you, there's good dirt and bad, but even sterile, rocky, weedy soil can become a beautiful productive garden with the right kind of care.

Remember: Some dirt takes a lot of, shall we say, manure, to become rich soil. I found all kind of manure to wade through. I'm not saying all of it--or any of it--was God's doing. But He had to let me go my own way for me to find out how much smarter He is than me, to realize I had to trust Him with all of my life, not just the pieces I wanted Him to have.

He dug deep and plowed the soil until it became the rich soil He could use to plant His seeds in. He's still working it, and He will be until I die, but it's a whole lot better than it used to be.

How about you? What kind of soil are you, and what will it take to make you into good soil?

Prayer: Dear Lord, You know what it will take to make me into the kind of soil that will bear good fruit. Do with me whatever is necessary to make me a blessing to You and to others. For Jesus I ask it, Amen.