“And those are the ones on whom seed was sown on the good soil; and they hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold” (Mark 4:20).
This is a logical and easily understood principle. Those willing receive the word of the Lord and that seed grows inside to bear fruit. Sadly, those who do not receive the word do not understand and, hearing the same word, have nothing happen to them. The word must be received and then it will grow and produce what the Lord intends. We need to be receptive. Or to be blunt, surrender.
Lord, just because I sit and listen, and the words fly by, does not mean that I am taking these words in and receiving them. Help me to resist the evil words of this age and receive Your words of truth. Too often, I suspect, it is the other way round, and I reject You while being fed by wickedness. Change is needed. The good must go in and the evil must be deflected and only You know truly which is which.
Lord Jesus, You have told me that if I abide in You, knowing that You abide in me, I will bear fruit. Make me good soil so that I am receptive to Your word and watch as it takes root and grows in me that which the Father desires. Till the ground of my soul and help me to be receptive. Guard my soul so that I am sensitive to the wickedness that is all around me. Help me to bear good fruit for Your kingdom. Amen.
While the devotion rightly emphasizes the importance of receiving the Word, it unintentionally leans toward a theology in which the decisive factor is our surrender, our receptivity, or our internal preparation.
From an Lutheran standpoint, this risks implying that the human will cooperates in salvation—an idea Scripture, Luther, and the Confessions explicitly reject.
The soil does not make itself good.
The seed is the active agent; the Sower is the one who acts. As Jesus explains, “To you has been given the mystery of the kingdom of God” (Mark 4:11). Given, not chosen, decided, or activated by our willingness.
This is why we baptize infants:
Because salvation is not the result of an age-appropriate decision, internal attitude, or conscious act of surrender. It is entirely God’s gracious work—His Word, His promise, His Spirit, His choosing (John 15:16).
Even infants receive the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:39), not because they “receive” by an act of will, but because God gives, and the Spirit creates faith where and when He wills.
Thus, when we speak of being “good soil,” the emphasis must remain:
• God prepares the soil.
• God plants the seed.
• God brings forth the fruit.
• “It is God who works in you” (Phil. 2:13).
Our role is not to make ourselves receptive but to remain where the Spirit promises to work—Word and Sacrament—trusting that He alone turns rocky ground into fertile soil.
“We contribute nothing to our salvation except the sin that makes it necessary.” — Luther.
Crucial and well stated, Paul.
Well said. God gets all the verbs.