Are you a fan of summer fruit? I’m talking about watermelon, plums, peaches, and cherries. I look forward to eating these every year. Good fruit is the product of good soil. When you have ground that is rich in nutrients you are capable of growing almost anything. That kind of soil takes work though. You have to keep it maintained, so it doesn’t get overrun by weeds. The same goes for our hearts. When we have fertile soil that is full of God’s words we produce spiritual fruit. We need to work at producing a heart that is fruitful.
Matthew 13:23
“But the one sown on the good ground — this is one who hears and understands the word, who does produce fruit and yields: some a hundred, some sixty, some thirty times what was sown.”
What is the State of Your Heart?
The parable of the sower is probably the best known of all of them. Jesus shared it to explain why some people don’t produce fruit in their lives. You had four types of soil; hard, rocky, weedy, and good. The hard soil represents the heart that is closed to Jesus and God’s word. Nothing penetrates it. The rocky soil represents the shallow heart that wants to live for Jesus but doesn’t go too deep and when trials hit they wither. The thorny soil is the believer who knows the word of God but the cares of the world are more important, and it chokes it out.
We are going to focus on the good soil. These are the hearts that want to be fruitful in their daily walk with Jesus. They hear the word of God, and it takes root. When the harvest comes, they produce up to one hundred times what was planted. How do we live a fruitful life like this?
Prepare Your Heart
First, we make sure our hearts are prepared. A farmer tills his soil every planting season. He goes in and turns it over so that any hardness can be broken up. We have to let Jesus till the hard places of our heart. This comes through the conviction of the Scripture and the Spirit. When we confess our sins and repent of them, we till up that soil.
Well Watered
Second, we are well watered. Crops grow from consistent sun and water. Christians grow from constant contact with Christ and his church and strong teaching of the Word of God. A well-nourished crop will always produce more fruit than a neglected one.
Prevent the Weeds
Finally, it is thorn and rock free. Healthy hearts remove all of the rocks and weeds that choke out deep soil. They don’t let the desires of the world choke out what the Lord is doing. The pursuit of what the world says is successful always falls in behind the pursuit of Jesus if not discarded entirely. Pursue a heart that is fertile soil.