Rocky Soil: Fruit Starts with Dirt

So we just finished talking about soil number one: the hard path. Now we keep plowing ahead (pun intended) into the next category of dirt. Remember, we can’t produce the Fruit of the Spirit unless we start with the right soil.

SOIL NUMBER TWO:

vs. 5-7: Others fell on rocky ground, where there wasn’t much soil, and they sprang up quickly since the soil wasn’t deep.  But when the sun came up they were scorched, and since they had no root, they withered.  Others fell among thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them.

vs. 20-22: And the one sown on rocky ground—this is one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy.  Yet he has no root in himself, but is short-lived. When pressure or persecution comes because of the word, immediately he stumbles. Now the one sown among the thorns—this is one who hears the word, but the worries of this age and the seduction of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.

There’s a middle ground for soil. It’s referred to as the rocky ground. If you visited us at our apartment, you would think that our grass is green. But if you examined it closely, you would realize that the ground cover is about 90% weeds. Yes, some grass grows, but most is killed by the weeds because there is only so much sun, water, and soil space to go around.

I’m afraid this category describes many Christians today. We know that Christ rescued us; we responded with joy and enthusiasm. But now that time has passed, the Bible feels boring and irrelevant so we stop reading it. We want to love Scripture but if we don’t pass the test tomorrow we’ll be in trouble so we study for school instead. We want to tell our friends about the love of Christ but we’re afraid that they’ll make fun of us so we stay silent instead.

Eventually, the things of this world take over until we are consumed with thoughts for them. The truth that once grew is killed by the weeds of worry and selfishness.

Growing up, I thought my heart could only be described as either the path, the rocky soil, or the fertile soil. On the whole, I think I have fertile soil. When I read and hear Scripture, I truly have a desire to implement the truths in my life. But I can feel the effects of this rocky soil trickling in.

I know I need to pray, read the Bible, and memorize Scripture. But I can never master all three at once. In the winter, I was fervently memorizing passages of Scripture but not spending as much time in prayer. Now, I have slacked off on passage memorization and yet have once again been strengthening my prayer life.

We need to constantly be looking for areas in our spiritual life that are becoming bogged down with the weeds of this world and work to till them up so that we can maintain a right relationship with God.

Read the next post in this series: http://wp.me/p2xHae-9h