In this parable Jesus describes the conditions of a heart ready to receive and bear the fruit of the gospel. Any of us may find that our hearts are any one of the types of soil he describes at different times in our lives. In fact, we may find that we are like a hard path one day, rocky soil the next, and loose, fertile soil the day after.
Can you identify times in your life when you were each type of soil? What conditions in your life help your heart to become good soil? What practices amend and fertilize the soil of your heart, making you receptive to the good news and prepared to respond with fruitfulness in your life? As Jesus describes the different type of ground, what lesson do you think he was trying to teach?
Today, ask for a soft, tender heart ready to receive the good news of Jesus Christ and a spirit that allows those seeds to sprout and take root in your life.