Tag Archives: soil

Compost Post

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One spring a farmer friend brought over a load of manure to put on our new garden. We worked that “organic material” into the soil and then planted the seeds. By mid-July, the garden looked incredible — especially the tomato plants. Those Beefsteaks and Big Boys grew as tall as me with huge stems and lush green leaves. By mid-August, our well fertilized plot looked like the Amazon jungle. This is what I was envisioning:

There was only one problem: not one tomato. All that tending, staking, and weeding with nothing to show. No BLTs, no salsa, no spaghetti sauce. How disappointing.

William Shakespeare said,
“Even good things can become bad if they are excessive.”
This applies to cow poop in a garden plot.

In the last post on Matthew 13, the four soils had various results.
One question lingers: What made the good soil “good”?

My Master Gardener friends would tell me it has to do with pH levels and aeration and mulch and rotation. And compost. Compost is essential.

My Master seems to be telling me that good “heart soil” needs the same kind of attention.

What is my heart pH level?
Is the state of my heart acidic? Am I continually critical and judgmental? Or am I too alkaline? Is my heart like hard clay, apathetic and unresponsive?
I need continuous alignment with Jesus!

Is there room for God in my heart?
Do I understand that the occasional pokes and jabs by the Holy Spirit may be creating space for His breath of life, His living water, and His light to get in?
I need the aerating work of the Spirit!

Does my heart appreciate others?
Am I resisting the cover of fellowship with other believers? Do I realize how much I need their influence to keep down the weeds and retain the freshness of my faith?
I need the mulch of community!

Am I afraid to innovate?
Am I settling for doing the same old things in the same old ways? Can I be open to change and embrace switching things up for the sake of new growth?
I need occasional rotation!

And then there’s the compost. My compost pile has coffee grounds and egg shells and carrot peels. In other words, garbage. Could it be that Jesus wants to take all the junk and muck and crud in my life, break it down, and use it to enrich the soil of my heart? What if I looked at troubles and trials as essential fertilizer? Yes, it stinks for a while, but after a season, the results are good soil for the Good Farmer to plant good Seed.

Enough questions!
How about a song?
Oops, that’s a question!

“Purify my heart.
Let every word, every thought, every motive, every intention,
be pleasing in Your sight, oh God.”
Jess Ray

Dirt Poor

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Several years ago, PB and I planted green beans in four raised beds.

Same seeds, same amount of sun and water, same guy planted the seeds on the same day. So much the same, yet the results were so different. It must have been something about the dirt.

Jesus described four kinds of soil in His story called “The Parable of the Sower” in Matthew 13. The same guy planted the same seeds on the same day, yet the results were so different.

The four soils represent four kinds of hearts and how they respond to the seed of the Word.

Some days my heart is a hard path.
The Seed lands on my heart, but can’t penetrate. Pride or bitterness or disappointment tamps down my desire to understand the Word. Or maybe I’ve been walking the same path so long that monotony has made me callous. Perhaps others have stomped on me and a tough, protective shell has developed.

Some days my heart is shallow soil.
The Seed lands on my heart and goes in the thin layer of topsoil. For a short season, the seed of the Word is exciting and enthusiasm runs high. Before long, things heat up and get testy. Because there is rock under the scanty soil, there are no roots to maintain the emotional high and the young growth withers away as quickly as it sprang up.

Some days my heart is thorny ground.
The Seed lands on my heart and goes in the soil with great promise. The Seed even sends roots down. However, the new seedling can’t compete with nagging worries, pleasurable distractions and selfish desire for worldly possessions. The wild overgrowth overtakes and suffocates the crop before there is any lasting fruit.

Some days my heart is good soil.
The Seed lands on my heart, goes in the soil, puts down roots and grows up into a healthy plant. Finally, some good news — a harvest! What made the difference? The condition of the soil.

Lord, break up my hard ground. Make my roots go down deep into the soil of Your marvelous love. Yank out the weeds that threaten to choke my affection for You. Let Your Word land daily on a tender and soft heart, ready to receive and able to produce fruit for Your glory.

“Listen then, if you have ears!” Matthew 13:11