The Sower's Delight

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Let's take a look at Matthew 13:1-9, 13:18-23 (ESV) ~ emphasis mine:

¹ That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. ² And great crowds gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat down. And the whole crowd stood on the beach. ³ And he told them many things in parables, saying: “A sower went out to sow. ⁴ And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. ⁵ Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, ⁶ but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away. ⁷ Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. ⁸ Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. ⁹ He who has ears, let him hear.”

¹⁸ “Hear then the parable of the sower: ¹⁹ When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path. ²⁰ As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, ²¹ yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away. ²² As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. ²³ As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”

The above is one of Jesus' parables on seed-sowing that is familiar to most Christians, no doubt. The seeds in this parable refers to the word of the kingdom (13:19), which God is portrayed to graciously invest in us.
 
Whether the sowing bears fruit or not depends on the kind of ground the seeds fall upon. Good soil makes a clean sweep of the rewards (13:8,23). 

Good soil yields the best crop. 

When we are talking about good soil, we must not only rule out unprotected lands where crop-predators abound, impenetrable rocky grounds and deceitful thorns. Jesus' allusion to "good soil" probably gave the predominantly agricultural society in the ancient of days a picture of soil that had to be well-ploughed and weeded for the best yield. "Good soil" also gives us - modern, scientific people - the picture of soil that has the most conducive particle composition, aeration, porosity, drainage capacity, moisture, pH, symbiotic organisms and fertility. Pest-controlled too. 

Good soil, in short, is a lot of work. 

 

Good soil is the one who hears the Word and understands it (13:23). He is not as unprepared (and complacent) as the one from whom the Word was snatched away (13:19). He does not doubt the Word when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the Word (13:20-21). He does not allow his eyes to be blinded by the pursuits and vexations of the world so that he loses sight of the Word (13:22). To be good soil is God's calling for us, Christians. Apart from walking by the Spirit... giving ourselves diligently to His transformative work... denying our fleshly tendencies and passions... remembering Christ's death and anticipating His great return with fellow Kingdom people in the Eucharist... and allowing His Word to be the very bread of life that we chew on, savour, digest and nourish ourselves ... can we ever fulfill so great a calling? What say you? 

I say... no. At least not for myself. Knowing me... never. 

In the beginning, God saw that His Creation was GOOD. He delighted in it. It was according to His plan, His purpose and His goodness. In the midst of the chaotic mess, the formless void - goodness. Goodness ready to be fruitful and multiply.

Good soil is the Sower's delight. A refuge for the seeds He sows. Potentially, a fruitful garden or field of super crops that satisfy the hungry of the world!

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And so, let us seek to be good soil. The soil that yields the crop that God's Word intends to bring forth.