4 Heart Conditions

“A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds of the air ate it up. Some fell on rock, and when it came up, the plants withered because they had no moisture. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown.”
When he said this, he called out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

His disciples asked him what this parable meant. He said, “The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to others I speak in parables, so that,

” ‘though seeing, they may not see;
though hearing, they may not understand.’

“This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God. Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. Those on the rock are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away. The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature. But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop. (Luke 8:5-15 NKJV)

Let’s be honest. Sometimes the parables of Jesus are difficult to understand, let alone to apply in our lives. However, this parable is definitely not one of them. This is one of the most pertinent and applicable parables Jesus ever gave in my opinion. In this parable, He shows us four conditions of the heart.

In this parable there are two primary “players”: The Seed, which is the Word of God; The Soil, which is the heart of the person who hears the Word.

The Word does not change. Whatever God has set it to do, it will accomplish. We know that “faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God” (Romans 10:17). So faith comes by hearing the Word. Not arguing with the Word or explaining it away. By hearing what God has to say to you, through His Word.

Anyone who has ever attempted to grow a garden, let alone a true farmer, knows that the soil in which you plant your seed matters. There is a reason why farmers in some areas grow various vegetables, some fruit, some peanuts and some grow only hay. The soil determines what seed you can expect to do well when planted. In the parable Jesus gives, He explains four types of soil or conditions of the heart found in the hearers of the Word.

First there is the “Wayside Soil”. This is soil on the outskirts of the field, where there’s traffic that keeps the soil packed down and hard. This is a heart condition that is hardened and even though the Word is sowed upon it, it is never absorbed or believed. It never takes root. The devil steals it away with doubt and unbelief, thereby preventing faith that will obey and save the hearer.

Second there is the “Rocky Soil”. This is the field that’s plowed in areas where the top soil is shallow. There’s just a thin layer of soil on top of the rocks. It’s soil that’s so rocky that it allows the seed to begin to sprout, but the soil is too shallow for proper root depth. This heart condition is characterized by quick and joyful belief in the Word. There is true initial saving faith and the person obeys the gospel and is saved. However, they never make the effort to put down roots in the Word. They enjoy the novelty of the experience. It’s something new and different. But when the novelty wears off and they realize it takes committment and determination, they fall away. They never take root. They never get rooted or grounded in the Word of God and allow it to change them. Because they have no roots, when temptation or problems come along they disappear. They are hearers of the Word but not doers. They never get rooted in the Word.

The third type of soil is “Thorny Soil”. This condition of the heart hears the Word and joyfully obeys. They begin to take root and grow in the Lord. For a season they do good. But just as in farming, you cannot simply sow the seed and then ignore it, you must care for the seed. You have to water and pull weeds if you want success. When I first moved into my house, I had freshly laid Bermuda grass. It looked good for a while, but then the weeds that were in the soil beneath the sod that was laid began to come up. If I want a nice looking lawn, I have to regularly spread “weed & feed” products on the lawn. I have to regularly water the lawn. Otherwise the good grass gets choked out by the weeds. I have several neighbors who apparently haven’t figured this out, or worse don’t care. This condition of the heart is the person who hears, obeys and begins to grow. However, they don’t regularly study the Word and spend time in prayer. They don’t learn to trust God. After a time, the problems of life begin to pull them down and away from God. Their faith begins to be choked out by the bills piling up, the problems on the job, problems in the marriage, etc. For some with this condition of the heart, it’s not the cares of life it’s the pursuit of riches and the pleasures of the flesh that do it. All because the precious seed of faith they were given is not carefully tended to.

Forth is the “Good Soil”. This is the condition of the heart we all want to strive for. This is the soil that is rich and cultivated, cared for by watering and weeding. This condition of the heart not only hears and believes the Word but obeys the Word. This condition of the heart hears, believes and obeys, even when the Word is something that the flesh doesn’t like. The first layer of good soil is an honest heart (willing to exercise intellectual honesty when looking at Scripture). The second layer of soil is a willingness to hear what the Word has to say, even when it’s something you don’t like. The third layer of this soil is obedience to that Word. This was all required before the soil bore fruit. But along with these components of the soil, there must be perseverance. The good soil is those who believe, obey and COMMIT. These are those who choose daily to serve the Lord. Like the old-time cowboy would say, “come hell or high water” I’m sticking with Jesus.

What kind of soil do you have? What heart condition do you have? Ultimately our heart condition is a choice we make. Will you be wayside soil? Will you be rocky soil? Thorny soil? You can choose what condition of the heart you will have. If you realize you have allowed your heart to go untended and it’s becoming hardened, rocky or thorny, there’s good news. Just as a you can break up fallow ground, get the rocks out or pull out the weeds in your garden, you can also change your heart condition.

What’s your heart condition? You are the one who will decide.