Before Paul ever wrote about the fruit of the Spirit—in fact, before Paul ever called himself a Christian—Jesus told His disciples a story about a man who went out to sow some seeds. In the story the man scattered seeds on four different types of ground. Some seed fell by the wayside, some fell on stony places, some fell among thorns, and some fell on good ground.
Each type of ground provided a different environment for the seeds to grow in, which resulted in varying levels of growth. The seeds on the wayside were devoured by birds before they could start growing. The seeds on the stony places grew almost immediately, but the stones made it hard to put down substantial roots. When the sun came out, those plants withered and died just as quickly as they had grown. The seeds among the thorns managed to grow—but because they were competing with the thorns for nutrients, the thorns stunted the growth of the plants and prevented them from ever producing fruit.
The only seeds with a happy ending were the ones that landed on good ground. They “yielded a crop: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty” (Matthew 13:8).
For 10 days now, we’ve been examining the fruit of the Spirit—the result of God’s Spirit working in our lives, changing how we think and behave. What we haven’t talked much about is the environment necessary for growing that fruit.
The parable of the sower gives us a lot of insight into that environment, although it requires a little digging on our part. Even Jesus’ own disciples were confused at first, so they asked Him, “What does this parable mean?” (Luke 8:9).
Within Christ’s answer is a blueprint that can guide us as we seek to give the fruit of the Spirit a better place to grow in our lives.
Jesus started by explaining the most important facet of the story: “Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God” (verse 11). No matter what ground it lands on, no matter how it’s received, the Word of God is the same in every situation. It’s the same message, the same promises, the same commandments. The only thing that changes is how others interact with it.
In reference to the first type of ground, Jesus explained, “When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside” (Matthew 13:19).
The wayside in this parable is a well-traveled footpath—a dirt road so compacted by footstep after footstep that it may as well have been concrete. The seeds that landed on that dirt never had a chance. Satan had no trouble swooping in and snatching them away.
Any part of our lives can become a spiritual wayside when we allow ourselves to become hardened to God’s message—when we resist His instruction and commandments. If we want to produce the fruit of the Spirit in our own lives, we have to make sure God’s Word can put down roots in our soil. Traits like pride, stubbornness and self-centeredness make for compacted, impenetrable spiritual soil where God’s Word will never grow.
To fix this ground, we need to work with God to break up the things in our lives that are preventing His Word from having a place in our lives. It’s not an easy, comfortable process, but it’s essential for growth: “Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground, for it is time to seek the LORD, till He comes and rains righteousness on you” (Hosea 10:12).
But even as we break up the waysides of our lives, the parable of the sower reminds us of other obstacles waiting for us below the surface. Christ continued, “But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles” (Matthew 13:20-21).
There are a lot of reasons to be joyful about God’s Word. It’s filled with inspiring verses and amazing promises. But if we treat God’s calling as if our lives will be filled with nothing but blessings and sunshine, we’re in for a rude awakening. Jesus warned His disciples, “In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).
Part of being a Christian means being honest with ourselves about what Christianity involves. The rocks in our soil can include our own false ideas about what our lives should look like if we obey God. Even though He promises to take care of us, He never promises that life will be free from difficulties. In fact, He promises just the opposite, warning us that as we pursue the Kingdom, we’ll have to make sacrifices and face serious trials.
The fruit of the Spirit—which includes joy, peace and longsuffering—is going to grow much better in a life prepared to face trials than it will in a life that expects no hardships.
The fewer rocks in the way of God’s Word, the better.
The third and final danger Christ mentions in this parable comes after we’ve broken up our compacted soil and after we’ve cleared out our stones. “Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful” (Matthew 13:22).
It’s not enough to just believe God’s Word. It’s not enough to just clear out a place for God’s Spirit to grow and then leave it alone. If we’re not diligent to tend that ground—to weed it and keep it from intruders—life will get in the way.
Jesus identified the thorns as “the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches.” Caring about things in this world is not necessarily wrong. Having riches is not necessarily wrong. But when we let those things become just as important as our spiritual calling, the end result is a life that struggles to produce godly fruit. When God’s Spirit has competition—when our calling stops being our primary focus—we’ll never live up to our true potential. We’ll always be a plant choked by thorns.
Paul looked at the sacrifices he had to make throughout his life—the trials he had to endure, the pleasures he had to give up—and declared, “But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him” (Philippians 3:7-9).
For the fruit of the Spirit to produce anything meaningful in our lives, that’s the attitude we need to have. Jesus concluded His explanation of the parable of the sower by saying, “The ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience” (Luke 8:15).
In the parable of the sower, the seed is the Word of God, the dirt is our heart and the water that makes it all grow is the Holy Spirit. Throughout this Journey, we’ve explored the many facets of the fruit of the Spirit—what it means to have love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. But before that fruit can truly grow, we need to provide God’s Word with the water of the Spirit and “a noble and good heart” to grow in.
That’s the ground that yields a crop—“some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!” (Matthew 13:8-9).
Break up the dirt. Dig out the stones. Uproot the thorns.
Be the good ground.
Continue your studies with “Journey 1: Knowing God” available from the Life, Hope & Truth Learning Center.
