Luke 8

“But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.” ‭‭Luke‬ ‭8‬:‭15‬ ‭NIV‬‬

In order to become the “good soil” and to produce an abundant harvest for God, there are 4 criteria that have to be met:

1.  We must have “a noble and good heart.”  How can we do this when Jesus Himself said: “…No one is good–except God alone” (Luke 18:19)?  We must abandon the ways of our sinful nature and allow the Holy Spirit to transform our hearts, and therefore our lives. 

2.  We must hear the word of God.  We need to make sure that we are exposed to God’s word every day.  This can be through reading, watching TV, listening to podcasts or worship music, or going to church.  But even more than that, we need to act on the messages we hear.  “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves.  Do what it says” (James 1:22).

3.  We need to continue to study the word of God.  If we want to be an effective member of God’s Kingdom, we need to know the words of the Bible and how they apply to us and those around us.  Once we have a firm understanding of scripture, we can then use God’s word to combat false teachings, resist temptation, comfort others, and to teach others about forgiveness, love, and salvation.  The psalmist wrote “Blessed is the one…whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on His law day and night.  That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither—whatever they do prospers” (Psalms 1:1-3).

4.  We have to persevere and have patience.  We are called to continue doing what is right, even when no one else is.  We must also persist in our efforts for the Kingdom even when it looks like there is no fruit being produced.  Make sure to be patient in these seemingly quiet times, as God may be refining our faith or testing our trust in Him.