Soil Test: What Type Are You?

When my son was 10, he came to his mom and me one day and announced that when he grew up, he was going to be a “grasser.” We had no idea what that meant, but we figured he was either going to cut lawns or grow marijuana for a living! He quickly explained that he wanted to cut lawns, phew!

That idea grew over the next few years into a desire to be a farmer. Not a commercial farmer, but a hobby / homesteader farmer. That’s when he decided to convert a small part of our back yard into “Tobin’s farm.”

I loved watching him learn about different seeds, how to plant them, and how to care for them as they grew. I don’t think there were too many other middle school boys in his class who would come home and spend hours in the yard caring for a garden. He watered it, weeded it, and even created a fence around it to protect it from animals. In the end, almost nothing grew!

Although Tobin was diligent in his work, none of us ever considered the soil in our yard. We discovered two major problems. First, was that our soil contained too much clay. Second, where he planted was above a dying root system of an old tree that was creating a fungus in the soil that killed most of what he planted.

You know where I’m going with this! The reason the garden failed to produce anything was due to the poor condition of the soil.

This was once the exact point Jesus was trying to make to His disciples about how we as people grow too. To the crowd listening, Jesus described God as a farmer sowing seed:

“A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds ate it up. Some fell on rocky ground, and when it came up, the plants withered because they had no moisture. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown.” – Luke 8:5-8

Some people may say that the seed is the Gospel message, but I think the seed is additionally anything God is trying to sow into our lives that will help us grow spiritually. That includes the first time someone hears the message of Jesus, and also the seed of His comfort and love, or the seed of confronting sin in our lives, or any other subject God chooses.

God, like a farmer, is always sowing seeds of His Word and truth into our lives, but what happens to those seeds depends on the soil into which they fall.

If the seeds are God’s Word, then the soil is the condition of our hearts to receive what He’s saying / sowing. 

In this parable Jesus gives clear descriptions of four potential soils – or heart conditions – we may have:

Path / Hard Ground – idolatry or no growth. As theologian Dallas Willard once said, “Most people do not become fully devoted (and transformed) followers of Jesus because they do not intend to.”

• Ask yourself: Do my time and identity revolve around worldly things? 
• Pray: Lord, I have given created things the seat of honor in my life. Forgive me and help me to put you first.

Rocky Ground – little, stunted growth. This happens when we put in as little effort as possible. Sort of like reading the college-class syllabus to determine the minimum work necessary to still get a passing grade.

• Ask yourself: Is faith something I pursue when I feel like it and when it’s convenient for me?
• Pray: Lord, I have not grasped the depth and height of Your love for me, and I have been careless with the most important things. Forgive me and help me to be rooted and grounded in You.

Thorny Ground – distracted growth. This is when our sincere desire to grow is overtaken by a million concerns and other pursuits of this life, and the flame that once burned bright becomes just a flicker.

• Ask yourself: Am I often anxious and do I forget that God is sovereign over the details of my life?
• Pray: Lord, help me to center myself in You and put You first in my life. Forgive me for thinking that I am in control and must perform and hold things together.

Good, Rich Soil – committed growth. It is not that this person is better, but that they are intentional to listen for the voice and Word of God, to hear it, to love it and to obey it. This soil, representing a soft heart, is often the result of a posture of humility. Growth isn’t because of striving or because of self-righteousness.

• Ask yourself: Am I drawn to time with God and amazed at how He is changing me?
• Pray: Lord, the good in me is only because of You. Continually remind me that You are the one saving me and growing fruit in my life.

Do you want to grow?

Can you give honest evaluation of the soil type that represents your heart? Do not be discouraged. Having a poor soil condition is not fate and it’s not God’s will for you. Honest reflection is the first step in change, and God is for us, always. He is ready to change your heart into good, rich soil where spiritual fruit can grow.