Tag: soils

The Soil Is Stressful

Dale Pollard

The farmer threw seed and some fell on the pathway and was eaten by birds. Some seeds fell on shallow soil, sprouted quickly, but were scorched by the sun. The sower continued to throw out the seed but it fell among thorns and the young plants were choked out before maturity. 

In Matthew, Mark, and Luke, each inspired author writes the same story. Their accounts provide additional insights and details but all of them provide the key to every parable Jesus told. Three of the four soils are deadly while only one is capable of producing healthy plants. 

The sower is the Savior, the seed is salvation, and the soil are the souls. This particular story is well known by most of the religious world but its implications can’t be overstated or overstudied. Throughout the gospels we read of the multitudes that followed Jesus everywhere He went and the crowd largely consisted of societal castaways. The demon possessed, the terminally ill, the crippled, and the spiritually challenged were more than just a handful.

Jesus Dealt With The Dirtiest Dirt 

They were dangerous. On occasion the crowds threatened the life of Jesus and His disciples (Mk. 3.7-10). 

The were demanding. Jesus would seek solitude after receiving news of John the Baptists’ death. When the needy crowd learned of His location they swarmed Him (Matt. 14.14). 

They were disloyal. In spite of the evidence they heard and saw, many disciples would walk away from the Savior (Jn. 6.59-71). 

The ministry of Jesus was a labor of love and it reminds us how undeserving we are to be the recipients of it. Let’s not forget that we’re soil surrounded by soil. People (souls) are not to be seen as an inconvenience, source of frustration, or the cause of our recoil. Let’s sow with our Savior and like our Savior because that’s part of what being good soil is all about. 

Are You Willing To Be A Maintenance Worker?

Neal Pollard

Near the end of the epistle to Titus, Paul writes, “And let our people also learn to maintain good works, to meet urgent needs, that they may not be unfruitful” (3:14). This verse teaches that Christianity involves maintenance work. Everyone enjoys a finished product, few like putting it together, and fewer enjoy repairing or maintaining it. In the same way, “maintaining good works” in the local church can be tedious business. Everyone enjoys a comfortable building, but who will help work on it? Everyone is concerned about the sick and hospitalized, but who will take the time to call, write, and visit them? Everyone likes hospitality and good fellowship, but who is willing to provide it?  The church must be filled with maintenance workers.

On the personal level, it is sad but true that some individual Christians just “fall away.”  Jesus once taught, “They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away” (Luke 8:13). In this verse, Jesus laments the failure of some believes to do that necessary, personal “maintenance work.” Preventatively, He teaches that we must maintain our joy of God’s Word. Nothing does this like reading and studying the Bible. Only those who are involved daily in this come to truly appreciate the precious value of its truth. Christ teaches that we must maintain our faith in God’s Word. It is hard to believe, but Jesus says that individuals can cease to believe in Him. This is dangerous, as Peter teaches one is better off knowing Christ than rejecting Him (2 Pet. 2:20-21). Christ also teaches that we must maintain our strength by God’s Word. Otherwise, temptation will pull us away from Him.

When Thomas O. Davis accepted the presidency of a civic club, he was not facetious when he prayed, “Now I get me up to work, I pray the Lord I may not shirk, and if I die before tonight, I pray my work will be all right.” An old proverb goes, “God gives every bird its food, but he does not throw it into the nest.” Too, God has given every man a Savior, but He will not just put salvation in our lap without our doing anything. In both the case of the bird and the man, there is work to be done to obtain and maintain what is needed. May all of use do good works eagerly (“be ready,” Titus 3:1), thoroughly (“to every good work,” Titus 3:1), blamelessly (“speak evil of no man,” Titus 3:2), and gently (Titus 3:2). That’s the way to excel in the maintenance business!

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