The Good Soil

^{Luke 8:15}  As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience.

Jesus used parables or stories to illustrate spiritual truths.  Through Jesus' teaching in the word, "He gives wisdom to the wise...and reveals deep and hidden things." (Daniel 2:20-22)  Many times, Jesus warned His listeners with this phrase, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear."  This warning demonstrates God's concern for mankind.  Truth is offensive to those who have not confessed that Jesus is Lord and believed that God raised Him from the dead.  The parable of the sower who sows seed on four different soils is a parable that Jesus used to illustrate what happens when people hear the word of God.  You can find this parable in Luke 8:3-18.

The believer with a genuine desire to surrender all to God is like a seed that falls in good soil.  This believer hears the word of God and does what God says (Luke 8:21).  Jesus compared this believer to the seed that "grew and yielded" a good crop at the end of the season (Luke 8:8).  There is a beautiful three step system to accomplish a good harvest from your Christian life.  Look at Luke 8:15 above.  You are the seed in the good soil.  First, you must hear the word.  Hearing requires listening when God reveals truth from His word, especially when your thoughts and actions are contrary to what God says.  Secondly, you must hold fast to the truth in God's word.   Cling to what God says, regardless of what the current religious or global "wisdom" may be teaching.  As worldly wisdom changes, God's Word remains unchanged.  Not only must you cling to the truth in God's word, but you must cling with an "honest and good heart."  There is no one that is good except God (Romans 3:12) - so be honest about yourself and honest about the truth in God's word.  Know that you are NOT good and that you can only be good because the Spirit of God dwells in you - this is how you "cling" to God's truth.  If others revile you because you cling to God's word or because of your good behavior (I Peter 3:14-17), they are reviling the very word of truth spoken by Almighty God.  The third step toward accomplishing a good harvest is to bear fruit with patience.  Certainly believers are intended to grow in understanding of God's word and of His love; but growth is only part of a good harvest.  Garden plants can grow and become luscious, green plants.  However, if plants are fertilized beyond a certain point of maturity, they can continue to put out lots of leaves and roots but no blossoms, fruit or seeds.  This would be considered a crop failure.  Can you make the spiritual connection?  Dear Christian, do not fail the harvest!  We are called to bear fruit by telling others about Jesus.  Interestingly, Jesus told another parable about bearing fruit with patience.

The Parable of the Barren Fig Tree - Luke 13:6-9

⁶ And he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. ⁷ And he said to the vine dresser, ‘Look, for three years now I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it down. Why should it use up the ground?’ ⁸ And he answered him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and put on manure. ⁹ Then if it should bear fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.’”

If you unpack this parable by first identifying the characters of the story, you can begin to understand how patience works with bearing fruit.  God is the man who owns the vineyard.  He is looking for us to bear fruit which is to spread the message of salvation.  Similarly, the vine dresser works to keep the vineyard productive.  You are the vine dresser.  See how the vine dresser, in verse 8, wants to keep working on the barren fig tree?  The barren fig tree is the unbelieving soul.  Like the vine dresser digs around the tree and adds manure, so we believers should feed the message of salvation to the lost.  With persistent and patient effort, you (specifically God in you) can increase the harvest for the kingdom of God.  The key to persistence is to be aware that the vineyard owner desires fruit.  Perhaps we can have great endurance in patience when we recall that every tree (unbeliever) that does not bear fruit will be cut down.