Have you ever planted a garden? Probably most of us can remember working in the soil, with a little help from Mom or Dad, and planting those radish seeds. Why was it always radishes? Then we would go to bed and rush out the first thing in the morning to see how the radishes were coming, right? Remember what came up first? It wasn’t radishes–it was the weeds!

But as soon as the first little radish sprouts appeared, I know what I did. And perhaps I wasn’t the only person ever to do such a thing. I pulled them up to see if there were any radishes. I can remember pulling one a day to see how they were coming along–and that didn’t help things a bit.

If they didn’t come up after a few days, I would go and dig for them, to see where they were. I’ve even done that with grass seed!

But there’s a lot to be learned out there in the garden, and Jesus Himself used parables about the garden on more than one occasion. In fact, it seemed to be one of His favorite themes for presenting truth about the kingdom of heaven.

Let’s notice one of His major parables, found in Luke 8.

“And when much people were gathered together, and were come to him out of every city, he spake by a parable: a sower went out to sow his seed: and as he sowed, some fell by the way side; and it was trodden down, and the fowls of the air devoured it. And some fell upon a rock; and as soon as it was sprung up, it withered away, because it lacked moisture. And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprang up with it, and choked it. 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. And his disciples asked him, saying, What might this parable be?” Verses 4-9.

Well, when Jesus stands up and cries for those of us who have ears to hear, then the message must be rather important. Jesus said something like this on several occasions. He told the people, “Go and learn what this means,” when He said, “I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” So let’s try to hear what He was saying in this parable about the sower, the seed, and the soil.

The Sower

Who does the sower represent? The Sower is Jesus–He was referring to Himself. He came from the city that has jasper walls and twelve foundations to an unfriendly country.

In the days of Christ, farmers didn’t live out on the farm. They were village farmers. It wasn’t safe to stay out in the country. The cities had walls for protection. You can go to parts of the world today where the remains of those days still stand. There were walls to keep people safe from robbers and thieves and murderers. The unfortunate man who was beaten up by the thieves on the Jericho Road and was helped by the good Samaritan was a sample of what things were like in the days of Jesus. Farmers lived in the city behind safe walls and went out into the countryside in the daytime to sow their seed.

Jesus left a friendly city, a heavenly city, where He was adored by angels, and all the created universe worshiped before Him. He came to an unfriendly country, outside the walls of safety, to a place of thieves and robbers and murderers. He took all the risks necessary in order to plant the seed. This is the kind of person the sower was.

Do you like to think of Jesus as a farmer? It’s not Farmer Brown or Farmer Jones; it’s Farmer Jesus. How does that sound? It’s not irreverent to call Him Farmer Jesus, for in His life here in this earth, He put His stamp of approval on hard physical work. He’s the One who worked for eighteen years in the carpenter shop in Nazareth, planing wood and sawing boards.

I’m glad that Jesus didn’t live in a palace, aren’t you? I’m glad that Jesus was a poor person who knew the meaning of hard work. By being this kind of person He could reach everybody. And so He came forth to sow.

The Seed

What is the seed? Jesus explains the parable, and so you know, if you’ve read the rest of Luke 8, that the seed is the Word of God. Nothing more, nothing less. The Word of God has power to produce life and growth and fruit in the soul.

It is still true today. We can have everything else besides the Word of God. Sometimes we try to meet people with philosophy and psychology and entertainment and all kinds of things. Sometimes we think our boys and girls need entertainment or gimmicks to keep their attention. Maybe we need to remember the power that is in the Word of God, that “liveth and abideth forever.” When we join Jesus in sowing the seed of the gospel, it is the Word of God that is the seed. That’s where it’s at.

The Soil

But what about the soil? There were four kinds of soil mentioned. It almost sounds like predestination, doesn’t it? Were you born as hardpacked wayside or rocky soil or thorny soil? Or were you born with good soil? Do you think you can identify which kind of soil is in your own heart? What if you discover that the soil in your heart is no good? Is there anything you can do about it? Keep these questions in mind as we think about the four kinds of soil Jesus talked about in this parable.

The Wayside

The wayside is ground that is packed down and hard from being tramped over. If it isn’t actually the path, it’s at least right next to it. It’s the ground alongside the road that is almost as hard as the road itself. It’s where the brown paper bags lie and the broken bottles and the M & M wrappers. It is filled with debris. It’s not an attractive place, and certainly not a good place to sow seed.

It could represent the kind of person who has a hard-beaten path from his house to the church, but who has allowed the debris of cherished sin and habit and neglect to fill up his life. The wayside ground is not subject to change–in fact, it is resistant to change. The wayside hearers believe that whatever was good enough for father or mother is good enough for them. Their religion is conventional and consists of going through the forms. If there’s a crack in the clutter where the seed can fall and spring up, then the predatory birds come along and get it-and there are plenty of predatory birds in the kingdom of this world.

So the seed that falls onto the wayside ground doesn’t stand much of a chance. If we are able to squeeze Jesus into the cracks, that’s about all He can expect. There is no hope for a harvest or for fruit to His glory. It doesn’t look too good for the heart with the wayside soil.

Rocky Soil

Let’s consider the second type of soil, the rocky soil. You’d think that the seed that falls there doesn’t have much of a chance either. But even among rocks there usually is a bit of dust, and it’s amazing what can spring up after a rain–tiny green shoots on what looks like bare rock. These might last for a half a day, or maybe for a day and a half. But they don’t last long because there isn’t enough soil for them to take root. The sun scorches them, or the next rain washes them away, and they are soon gone.

Rocky soil could represent the kind of religious experience that is here today and gone tomorrow, the kind of person who can go through a revival and an apostasy all the same week. This could represent the emotional religion, dependent upon the right singing, the right nostalgia, the right tear-jerking stories. But soon after the emotional high is over, things are right back where they started.

This soil represents the person who responds only with his emotions, and such an experience is neither deep nor lasting–it is just the impulse of the moment, just the reaction for the day. It is a sort of rock-and-roll religion that works the nervous system, but doesn’t change the heart. There may be a seeming conversion under the thrill of the moment. But as soon as the stimulus is removed, the spiritual life dies out-sometimes overnight. It doesn’t look too good for the heart with the rocky soil.

Thorny Ground

Some seed fell among thorny ground. We find thorns and weeds are everywhere, don’t we? They don’t require cultivation. They can spring up spontaneously. When our family lived in Nebraska a few years ago, we had a seven-acre piece of ground that was covered with those purple thistles. The weeds seemed to multiply a thousand times over every spring and summer–and they didn’t require any work, either. If we had wanted to raise purple thistles, all we would have had to do would have been to lie in the hammock and let it happen!

Well, some seed fell among the thorns, and even though the soil underneath might have been all right, there were too many thorns. Many of us, perhaps, identify with this soil. One might argue as to whether or not he was wayside or rocky soil, but there’s no mistaking thorny ground. It’s easy to see the thorns in our lives, the things that choke out the good seed. They can easily be seen everywhere.

What are some of the thorns in our lives? Some of them could be the pleasures of the world, maybe even innocent pleasures–like playing tennis, for instance! Something that is good in itself becomes a thorn when it crowds out the good seed. Another kind of thorns would be life’s cares, perplexities, and sorrows. There are plenty of those to demand our attention, no matter who we are. The problem of keeping body and soul together can take a lot of time and energy. The poor fear for want, and the rich for loss. Both can become preoccupied with the cares of this life.

Thorns can take the form of sorrow and heartache. Sorrow and grief are the common lot of humanity, but some of us allow the devil to tum these things into thorns–thorns that prevent us from seeing Jesus anymore.

Then there are the faults of others. How many times have people stumbled over the faults of those around them? We’ve all experienced it to some degree. The faults of others can tum into thorns in our pathway if we allow them to keep our attention from Jesus and the things of heaven. And our own faults and imperfections can accomplish the same thing.

What can one do about thorns–the weeds and the thistles that prevent the growth of the gospel seed? There are a lot of thorns out there–and it doesn’t look too good for the thorny soil.

The Good Soil

What is the good soil? It is those who receive the seed with an honest and good heart. That sounds appealing, doesn’t it? Do you have an honest heart, a good heart? How many hearts of that kind are there?

It’s common to hear Christians pray for the “honest in heart.” But, have you ever heard someone pray for the Lord’s blessing on the dishonest in heart? I hadn’t, until one day I heard someone say, “Lord, bless all the dishonest in heart!” Surely the dishonest in heart need some prayers too.

One time at a campmeeting I heard the speaker get up and ask, “How many of you have been praying for Khrushchev?” Not a soul raised his hand! Then he said, “I’ve been praying for Khrushchev lately. He seems to be standing in the need of prayer. I think he’d make a wonderful preacher, don’t you?”

What about the apostle Paul? Before his experience on the Damascus Road, he certainly did not appear to be a good candidate for leadership in the early church. He is frequently depicted holding the coats of the men who were stoning Stephen. But that was just the beginning. From doing that he went on to become directly responsible for the death and imprisonment of many of the Christian believers. He tells us so.

But God could see into the heart, and He saw good soil there. And one day He stepped in and stopped Saul in his tracks, and Saul became Paul, the mighty preacher and evangelist and author and missionary.

So how can we judge what is in someone’s heart? We don’t know the roots, the background of those around us. Only God knows what makes an honest heart. Only He knows where the good soil is to be found–and some of the places where good soil can be discovered turn out to be a surprise to many of us.

What is good soil? Here are a few clues. It is soil that yields to the conviction of the Holy Spirit, admits its need, maintains a continual, personal receiving of life from the heavenly Gardener. And it is in this kind of soil that the perfect fruit of faith and meekness and love matures.

How can you be good soil? Or can you? Is a person simply predestined to be good soil? or wayside soil? or rocky soil? or thorny soil? But if one isn’t predestined to be a particular kind of soil, how does one become good soil? Does it sound attractive to you?

Jesus never taught predestination. The Bible doesn’t teach it. This parable is saying that in every heart are all four kinds of soil.

Every Kind of Soil

Haven’t you noticed samples of each kind of soil in your own heart? We all know what it’s like to be wayside soil on some things, if not on all things. If someone gets up and talks against one kind of sin of which I disapprove, I’m good soil. My folks, for instance, raised me with certain inhibitions. Some things do not appeal to me simply because of my tastes and inclinations and personality. So when I hear those things condemned, I’m good soil.

But if someone gets up and talks against one of my besetting sins, all of a sudden I’m wayside soil.

It is possible to be wayside soil or rocky soil or thorny soil on one thing, and good soil on something else. We have all experienced it and find that even when it comes to the gospel itself and relating to the call of Jesus to the human heart, that we give mixed responses.

But there is good soil in every heart. And the great Farmer, the Sower of the seed, Jesus Himself, is anxious to reach that good soil with the seed of the gospel. He will try every means possible to reach the good soil in your heart and sow the seed of His Word, that it may produce a harvest to His glory.

I wish I didn’t have thorny soil. I don’t like the hardness I sometimes feel in my heart. Sometimes I find it hard to change some of my ideas. But is there something I can do about it? What can I do to help the Gardener rid my life of thorns and stones and hard-packed earth?

It’s intriguing to consider just exactly what it is that we can do in this process of seed-sowing and growth in our lives. Have you ever tried to get the weeds out of your soul soil? Have you? How can it be done? Here’s a parable that may help you think this through.

What Can the Soil Do?

This is the story of a plot of ground that wanted to be a garden. The story actually begins with the Farmer, who purchased the plot of ground at great expense. He then provided some seed of excellent quality and came to the plot of ground and sowed the seed.

Well, the plot of ground rejoiced. It had always wanted to be a garden. And it began immediately to try to do its part toward becoming a garden of beauty and fruitfulness. It began to look at itself and discovered to its dismay that it was covered with a number of unsightly weeds. There were thorns and thistles and briers and brambles, and the plot of ground was concerned and ashamed. Before the coming of the Farmer it hadn’t paid much attention to such things, and the weeds had made terrible inroads. Their roots were deeply entrenched in the soil.

“How can I receive any benefit from the seed while all these weeds are growing unchecked?” wondered the plot of ground.

“Everybody knows that a garden must be weeded in order for the seed to grow.”

So it began immediate efforts to try to remove the weeds. It wanted to cooperate with the Farmer so that the time would come as quickly as possible when it would no longer be just an ugly weed patch, but would become a lovely garden.

The plot of ground struggled and fretted. It sincerely wanted to get rid of its weeds, but the problem was figuring out how. All the instruction about weed-pulling seemed to be vague and contradictory. The plot of ground heard from one source that if it would get rid of the leaves and stems, the Farmer would then be willing to pull out the roots. But it discovered it was too weak to get rid of the leaves and stems.

It was told that if a plot of ground did its part, then the Farmer would do His part. But the plot of ground seemed unable to do any part of the weed-pulling for itself. It was often told to try hard to overcome the weeds, but it didn’t exactly know how to do that either, and when the weeds were still apparent, week after week, those around the plot of ground, and even the plot of ground itself began to wonder if it were really sincere in wanting to get rid of the weeds.

Someone suggested to the plot of ground that if it would not try to remove the weeds from the whole garden all at once, but would concentrate on removing just one weed at a time, that would be easier. But the plot of ground found itself unable to remove even one weed.

At times the plot of ground almost gave up in discouragement at the lack of progress made, but then it would once again picture the garden it longed to become, and it would again put forth earnest efforts to try to get rid of the weeds. But all of the efforts of the plot of ground to rid itself of the thorns and briers ended in nothing.

One day the plot of ground was forced to admit that it would never become a beautiful garden on its own, and that day the Farmer came to the plot of ground with some terrific news. The Farmer had come often before, but the plot of ground had been so busy struggling with the weeds that it hadn’t really taken time to listen. The Farmer told the plot of ground something that was almost impossible to believe. It seemed at first glance to go contrary to everything the plot of ground had ever heard about gardening. Here is what the Farmer said: “It is not the responsibility of the garden to get rid of the weeds. That is the work of the Gardener.”

It Is the Gardener Who Pulls the Weeds

Well, you can see right away why the plot of ground had a hard time with the response. No wonder the plot of ground had trouble with the Farmer’s announcement.

But unless the plot of ground accepted the Farmers offer, it must give up all hope of becoming a beautiful garden So the plot of ground surrendered to the Farmer and allowed Him to pull the weeds. And the first thing you know, the weeds were being pulled up–by the roots, not just the leaves and stems went. The whole plant was uprooted and taken far away from the plot of ground. Then in their place good seeds were sown, and the garden began to grow and develop.

As time passed, the plot of ground, which was now a beautiful garden, continued to allow the Farmer to do His work. And the garden continued to do its work. It continued to accept the seed that the Farmer sowed, drank deeply of the water the Farmer showered, and basked in the sunshine that the Farmer provided. The plants in the garden grew and grew and brought forth fruit-some an hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty.