Reader,
Over the past few weeks, we've explored a different way of looking at Jesus' Parable of the Sower. I've been inviting you to consider the types of soil Jesus describes and ask yourself, "What type of soil is in my heart right now?"
The first three types of soil are not healthy:
- The soil of a hard heart, which cannot receive God's healing
- The soil of a shallow heart, which cannot sustain discomfort and difficulty
- The soil of a divided heart, which cannot separate the cares of this world from the things of God that do not fade
Today, we finally get to reflect on what the soil of a healthy heart looks like.
That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. Such great crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat there, while the whole crowd stood on the beach. And he told them many things in parables, saying: “Listen! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell on a path, and the birds came and ate them up. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and they sprang up quickly, since they had no depth of soil. But when the sun rose, they were scorched, and since they had no root, they withered away. Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. If you have ears, hear!” (Matthew 13:1-9)
This fourth type of soil represents a human heart that's ready to receive God’s word. Not only does this soil contain the nutrients and moisture for a seed to grow into a plant: it's also able to produce a significant return.
When our hearts are in this condition, we are not the only ones who benefit. Yes, we'll receive God's word and grow as a result. But more than that, the blessings that we receive will overflow and spill into the lives of those around us. It transforms our relationships and encourages the people in our lives to till their hearts toward growth as well.
What Jesus is describing here is how we go about discipling one another. After all, that's the commission he gave us:
"Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age." (Matthew 28:19-20)
We can only follow through and live out this calling when we're constantly tilling our hearts, that they might be rich and fruitful.
Amazingly, the first three heart conditions are the very real human temptations with which Jesus himself contended when coerced by Satan in the wilderness (Matthew 4:1-11):
- The Hard Heart: “If you are the Son of God…throw yourself down,” was a jest for Jesus to prove himself and receive the validation of others (Matthew 4:6-7)
- The Shallow Heart: “Tell these stones to become bread” was an allure to comfort (Matthew 4:3-4)
- The Divided Heart: Satan's offer to give Jesus “all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor” (Matthew 4:9-10) was a clear seduction to embrace the accolades and assets of earth
Through it all, Christ stayed true. His heart was ready to press into the further up and further in life.
How can our hearts be made ready? Only through tilling.
The hard heart is tilled through healing work, the shallow heart through strengthening work, and the divided heart through simplifying work. Through reflection, tilling prayers, and practice, one can reject the false fantasies that call to us like mythical sirens charming us towards catastrophe. Like Jesus, you must reject these happily-ever-afters: they are unworthy of your faith, hope, and love. Spurning them is the first practice of true self emergence, which positions you for the true delights of the further up and further in life.
You are loved.
I'm for you.
You've got this.
Jake