What Kind of Soil is Your Heart Made of?
This week, Jesus reminds us through the parable of the sower( Mat 13: 1-9)that our hearts need to be open for the word of God to take root. Jesus gives us description of four types of soil our hearts are made of:
Hard Soil
This is where the seeds “fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up”.
In the book The Screwtape Letters by C.S.Lewis, Screwtape (senior demon) writes to his nephew Wormwood (young demon) training him on tempting humans and making them stray from God (Enemy). In one of these letters, Screwtape says “It is funny how mortals always picture us as putting things into their minds: in reality our best work is done by keeping things out.”
The word of God never entered the hearts because the hearts were not tuned towards God. They were just not interested.
Rocky Soil
A rocky heart has little soil. Those with this soil immediately accept the word but soon give up because there is lack of endurance when suffering comes. The word of God has not taken root deep in their hearts.
Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7
Thorny Soil
A thorny heart is a worldly heart with unquenchable desires that gives no room for God.
“Other seeds fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants.”Other seeds fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants.“
“Gratitude looks to the Past and love to the Present; fear, avarice, lust, and ambition look ahead.”
― C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters
When we set our hearts on the future -material wealth, power and fame, we leave little space for God’s word to take root in us.
Fertile Soil
8 Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.
“Be not deceived, Wormwood, our cause is never more in jeopardy than when a human, no longer desiring but still intending to do our Enemy’s will, looks round upon a universe in which every trace of Him seems to have vanished, and asks why he has been forsaken, and still obeys.”
― C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters
When our hearts are open, it becomes a fertile ground for God’s word to transform us and the world. Despite all the difficulties, we carry on doing His will.
Fr. Dom in sharing his experience on tilling the soil in the garden, explained that the bad soil can be changed to good soil to bear fruits. It just takes some effort on our part to make that choice and make the soil fertile. C.S Lewis, in his book – the Screwtape Letters, illustrates the battle for our souls. If we choose not to till the soil, our hearts becomes a favourable ground for the evil one.