Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. Matthew 13:8 NIV
And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart. Ezekiel 36:26 NLT
This is important. Jesus doesn't make a standardized goal everyone must meet. He didn’t say all good soil produces the same amount of fruit. Some produce one hundred times more, some sixty times more, some thirty times more. The significant thing is that all good soil produces fruit. It is so encouraging to know that God's question is not, "Are you producing as much as that guy? As much as your sister?" His question is, "Are you welcoming my Word and allowing it to bear fruit in your life?" Growing fruit – not – flawless performance – is the mark of good soil.
Then there’s another wonderful encouragement. If you are not currently good soil, you don’t have to stay that way. God is continually in the business of transforming hearts. He says He will give us new heart and new spirits.
Hard soil can be softened. Many people who at one time seemed completely closed to God eventually became devoted followers because God broke up the hard ground of their hearts,
Shallow soil can grow deeper. Deep roots don’t grow in a day. Deep roots develop over time, time spent intentionally and consistently making room for God.
Thorny soil can be cleared. The many competing desires and priorities that choke out spiritual growth can be pulled and removed. Repentance, simplifying life, reordering loves, practicing generosity and self-sacrifice – these are ways thorns can be removed. The Holy Spirit is exceptionally good at revealing thorns and helping us get rid of them.
But the soil cannot improve itself. A field becomes fertile because someone works it. Likewise, it is absolutely necessary that we cooperate with God, but He is the One who changes us. This is why no disciple should ever give up over the current condition of their heart. If God could transform Peter from fearful to courageous and Paul from persecutor to apostle, then He can certainly change any of us. The life-long question is, “Am I allowing the Gardener God to work on my soil?”
- Good soil is not the heart that never needed changing. It is the heart that keeps listening and yielding to God.