What Kind of Ground Are You?

In Community Bible Study we started studying Mark at the beginning of the year. This past week, we studied the parable of the sower (Mark 4). When you’ve been a believer for a long time, I think it’s easy to let the parables that we hear so often just kind of wash over us. I’m ashamed to say I’ve found myself thinking, “Yeah, yeah — that’s for non-believers. People who don’t get it yet.”

And yet, as we discussed the familiar parable, I found myself thinking about it in more depth that I normally would. To refresh your memory, this is the parable when the sower spreads seed on the path, the rocky ground, the thorns, and the good soil and various things happen depending on that ground’s condition.

The seed that falls on the path is gobbled by birds. It never has a chance to sprout or do anything. The path is meant to represent those whose hearts are so hard that the gospel (the seed) has no impact on them.

The seed that falls on the rocky ground takes root quickly, but then as soon as it gets hot, withers. These are the people who embrace the gospel, but at the first test or trial, fade away.

Next is the thorny ground where the seed grows, but is choked out. And here’s where I found myself sitting back and really analyzing things. Because the thorny ground is people who get so caught up in their daily lives – not necessarily anything bad, just busy-ness – that their spiritual life has no nourishment and dies.

Finally, the good ground where the gospel takes root and multiples immensely. Obviously these are the people we want to be – those who embrace the gospel and then work for the Kingdom unfailingly.

But I wonder if sometimes I don’t ride that edge – the border between thorny and good soil. Because life is busy and hectic. There’s a lot that has to be done, and even more that I’d like to get done or that’s just fun to do. Keeping priorities straight is a daily (sometimes hourly) challenge. So I’m working on it. I want to be that good soil, the ground that is useful to the Kingdom.

It’s not a new insight – but it’s the first time that it’s really hit home and made me ask myself: what kind of ground are you, really?