Stories of the King 4: The Story of the Four Soils
For Meditation
The Bible continuously reminds us of the nature of God and the nature of humanity. They run throughout the entire narrative of Scripture without overlapping. In the parable of the four soils, Jesus displays the generous nature of God and the failing human responses. God sows His precious seed into our lives despite our hard hearts, shallow faith, and cluttered lives.
Jesus explains the parable by referencing Isaiah speaking to an exiled Israel. Similarly, this parable depicts Christians as exiled or separated from God by Sin. It shows us why we fail to produce fruit when we’ve been trusted with the Word of God. This parable emphasizes the importance of hearing the Word of God properly and ensures that correct hearing leads to faith and correct faith leads to fruit.
The parable of the four soils speaks to the blunt realities of our lives. If you’ve ever felt dismay at the inadequacy of your production, hopeless in the face of your own banality, stuck somewhere between the external facade you want others to see and how you truly feel, or questioned your own significance – Jesus has a story for you.
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Luke 8:4-15
4 While a large crowd was gathering and people were coming to Jesus from town after town, he told this parable: 5 “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 ate it up. 6 Some fell on rocky ground, and when it came up, the plants withered because they had no moisture. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the plants. 8 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, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”
9 His disciples asked him what this parable meant. 10 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.’
11 “This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God. 12 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. 13 Those on the rocky ground 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. 14 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. 15 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.
