“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (Matthew 5:8). It is said that the heart is the seat of the soul. Every thought, every decision, every word, and every action begins at the heart [mind] of man. In this first section, we will consider four heart conditions that Jesus plainly and powerfully put into the form of a parable. Most call it the parable of the sower, but let us consider it as the parable of the soils (cf. Matthew 13:3–23; Mark 4:3–25; Luke 8:5–18). In this parable, Jesus rehearses the common practice of His time of a farmer sowing seed by casting or scattering it.
In such a practice, the seed would fall upon a variety of soils. Some would fall by the “way side.” “It was trodden down, and the fowls of the air devoured it” (Luke 8:5). Some seed would fall upon shallow, rocky soil. “As soon as it was sprung up, it withered away, because it lacked moisture” (Luke 8:6). Some seed would fall upon thorny soil. “The thorns sprang up with it, and choked it” (Luke 8:7). Finally, the goal of the sower was that some would fall upon good soil. It “sprang up, and bare fruit an hundredfold” (Luke 8:8).
In the parable, “The seed is the Word of God” (Luke 8:11). The soils represent four heart conditions upon which the Word of God is sown. The way side soil represents the hard heart. “They that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved” (Luke 8:12). The rocky soil represents the shallow heart. “They, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away” (Luke 8:13). The thorny soil represents the distracted heart. “They, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection” (Luke 8:14). The good soil represents the good heart. “But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience” (8:15).
How is your heart? Is it hard, shallow, distracted, or good and honest? To achieve continual purity in heart after that we have sinned, we must have a good and honest heart condition. It is interesting that three of the four hearts were actually converted upon hearing the Word of God. Only one of the three converted remained faithful. Jesus’ powerful parable is not only a revelation of heart conditions, but also explicit revelation that one can fall away after being saved. “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (Matthew 5:8).
Clifton preaches for the Coldwater church of Christ in Coldwater, MS
