Nevada Soil

Spring weather has put me in the mood to plant a garden. I began hoeing a piece of Nevada dirt that has never been cultivated before. The soil was very hard and compacted, not to mention extremely dry and dusty. With each swing of the hoe I dung up more and more rocks. I tossed the rocks aside knowing that my vegetables could never grow good roots in rocky soil. As I was hoeing I tripped over a rock and fell on what looked like some nice grass. Unfortunately, like most deserts plants, it was thorny. After I pulled all of the prickly spines from the palm of my hands I began working the soil again. Then I wiped the sweat from my brow, feeling quite proud of the good soil.

Preparing a garden in this unforgiving desert reminds me of Jesus’ parable of the Sower. This story does point out the need to sow gospel seeds in every corner of the world. But let’s not forget what Jesus is teaches about cultivating the soil of our own hearts. Just because I am a Christian doesn’t mean my heart is always good soil ready to receive God’s word. Sometimes, I need to weed my garden, or the cares of the world will choke out God’s word.