13And He said to them, "Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables? 14The sower sows the word. 15And these are the ones by the wayside where the word is sown. When they hear, Satan comes immediately and takes away the word that was sown in their hearts. 16These likewise are the ones sown on stony ground who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with gladness; 17and they have no root in themselves, and so endure only for a time. Afterward, when tribulation or persecution arises for the word's sake, immediately they stumble. 18Now these are the ones sown among thorns; they are the ones who hear the word, 19and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. 20But these are the ones sown on good ground, those who hear the word, accept it, and bear fruit: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred."
Unfortunately, there are times that I can relate to being all of these kinds of soil. If I see something in the scripture that puzzles me, do I open my heart and really hear it? Or do I reason my way out of it and instead try to read it as what I would rather have it mean? This is a very hard one to recognize we are even doing. I think Satan often uses this very subtle way of snatching away a seed that was meant to be sown in our hearts.
Another time this seems to apply to me is when I am simply being too stubborn for my own good. If I hear someone else's interpretation of the scripture, do I simply dismiss it as wrong because it is different than what I had believed? Again, this could easily be Satan snatching away a seed that was meant to be sown.
Or how many times have I gone to a wonderful Christmas service then gone home to other "Christmas" activities but leaving Christ behind? How many times have I gone to activities or read things or did something that got me so excited about my love for my family, only to return to old ways as soon as we returned to our normal daily routines? I think we can all recognize it when our hearts bear this stony ground but we are not very good at clearing out the stones.
Or how about the fact that I tend to keep my work life and religious life very separate? At work I focus on getting my job done, work toward that promotion or raise, etc. I will wait till I get home to worry about family and how I can be helping others. Is this the thorny ground? Or how about times I make choices to spend money on me rather than a charity? Or to spend time on my hobbies rather than doing volunteer work? This is definitely thorny ground.
I fully realize how being good ground can bear fruit many times over. We would all like to think we are the good soil. But I think there is always the little bit in us that drags us toward the poor soil and it is a continuous struggle to be good. No one is perfect. But we can pray to improve our hearts so we too can be the good soil.