READ Matthew 13:1-9. List everything you can learn or assume about the farmer, the seed and the soil. Pay particular attention to the 4 types of soil. Picture each one and what you might do to improve it so the seed could grow and flourish.

If you’ve ever had a garden, you know that regenerating bad soil doesn’t happen overnight but it is possible. With careful work, you can help the soil become fertile again. 

Now read Matthew 13:18-23, Jesus’ explanation of his parable. Journal your thoughts as you compare your picture of the 4 soils to the way you’ve received His Word at different times in your life? 

The soil in Jesus’ parable is your soul. When your soul is healthy, everything else has a chance to flourish. But when it’s depleted, dry, cracked, and full of weeds, even good things can’t take root. Life circumstances can have a huge impact on the condition of your soul. 

REFLECT: Think about your life when you first heard the gospel. Which of the four soils best describes your soul then? How did you respond?

What have you found to be nurturing to your spiritual growth from that time to now?

Tending to the condition of the soil of your soul is vital as you experience times of challenge in your life. It’s easy for rocks, thorns and dry places to begin to gather and gradually make that soil unproductive. 

What are the rocks and thorns in your life that choke out your spiritual growth during challenging times?  What steps could you take to overcome them?

RESPOND: Take a walk in nature this week. As you walk, notice the growing plants and types of soil that support them. 

Consider the condition of the soil of your soul. Share the places that seem hard, dry or full of weeds with God in prayer. 

Commit to spending time with HIm on a daily basis as you work together to see those places transformed to good fertile soil. 

Spend time in His Word asking God to help you use His truth to soften and improve the soil of your soul. 

When we speak of the human soul, we are speaking of the deepest level of life and power in the human being.            

- Dallas Willard - Renovation of the Heart

Tending to the garden of your soul is one of the greatest things you can do to nurture your spiritual growth. God’s love, His presence and His Spirit in you can help soften the hard places, restoring the bad soil to productive soil where His Word will take deep root and flourish.