How to Have Good Soil in a Godly Heart

You need good soil in your heart for spiritual growth. This is a story of how God granted me good soil as he transformed my heart to be godly.

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Several years ago when I first built my raised vegetable beds, I mixed a special soil of equal parts compost, peat moss, and vermiculite to fill the beds. These components came together to create a light, well-drained, well-fertilized mix: the ideal growing medium for my produce.

Good Soil in a Godly Heart

My heart’s garden is like my raised beds. When I became a new creation in Christ, God covered over my sins with Jesus’ sacrifice. The old roots and seeds from previous sins don’t grow in my heart like they used to, because God changed the soil in my heart. He removed the rocks and sticky clay. He made my heart lighter, more porous, and healthier through his Word and his process of cleansing and sanctifying me.

As the years have passed and my raised beds have become established, I still have to weed them from time to time. But it’s far different from weeding the soil in a tilled garden. In my old tilled garden, weed seeds were mixed into the soil itself. Weeds were much harder to pull out, especially because my native soil is thick with clay and laced with rocks. The weed seeds that sprout in my raised beds lay on top of the soil, scattered by the wind or birds, making them much easier to pull out.

I still struggle with sin, like everyone else does. Yet as I grow in faith, my sins seem less stubborn to remove. I want to live a life pleasing to God, so I weed my heart’s garden daily from sin through confession and repentance.  The sins don’t take root as deeply because the Holy Spirit helps me identify and remove them faster and more easily than when my heart’s soil wasn’t as workable.  It’s taken decades of preparation and cultivation, but my heart’s garden is more productive now that God improved the soil.

Question for reflection:

Read the parable of the sower in Matthew 13. What kind of soil is in your heart?

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