Good Soil in the Garden of the Heart

To have a successful garden, you need good soil. Where does it come from? Does it just happen to be good? If you have worked in a garden, you know that good soil takes effort on your part. You must till the soil, pull out old roots, dig out rocks, remove pebbles, and add fertilizer.

The same is true of the good soil of our hearts. We must prepare our hearts to receive the Word and produce a bumper crop. We must get rid of bad attitudes and dig out rocks of resentment, hatred, and the pain of bad experiences. But we do not have to do this entirely on our own. God’s Spirit is available to root out the bad things that Satan brings upon us.

In Matthew 13, Jesus taught about good soil in the parable of the sower (verses 1-23) and the parable of the weeds (verses 24-29). We need to remember the message of those parables and understand that Satan doesn’t want us to improve our soil. It is essential that we study and learn from God’s Word. That is the one thing we can use to make our hearts receptive to the purpose God has for us.

Don’t try to create good soil that produces a “bumper crop” on your own. A garden that is not tended by a gardener will never produce a good crop. A heart that is not maintained by God’s Spirit will never be what it should be. The only way for us to have God’s Spirit helping us is revealed in Acts 2:38:

“Change your thinking and be baptized … in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven, and YOU WILL RECEIVE THE GIFT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. The promise is for you and your children and for ALL who are afar off…”

You and I are those who are afar off, and the message is for us.is for us.

— John N. Clayton © 2026