Cultivating Good Ground in the Lives of those around us: What does that look like in 2021?
The year of 2020 has been a wildcard of a year that has felt a bit like everything that was familiar was put inside a giant snow globe, shaken up, and then shattered right before our eyes. There are pieces left around that are familiar, yet, they feel somehow different now within our new context. So much of what has happened this year has caused deep loss, grief, and heartache. We can’t get back the lives that have been lost, in some cases the jobs and businesses that have disappeared, or the moments that have passed. A book I read recently (Beth Moore’s Chasing Vines) made the distinction that our struggles can “matter” without us having to say that they were “worth it”. I believe to the very core of my being that we can walk out of this year holding onto lessons that we learned through the chaos and make sure that they matter.
One of the issues that rose to the surface for me this year is the division within our country with regards to social issues, politics, and the strange illusion that as a citizen of the US, you have to pick a side of the aisle and camp there. I find this toxic on so many levels. I don’t even like the fact that there is an aisle. The arbitrary concepts of what ideas you should hold if you are part of one or the other political party, the fact that human beings who believe differently than you do are villainized and hated, the fact that we have lost the ability to listen to and learn from one another. All of it just saddens me on so many levels. On one hand, as a believer in Jesus, I am both heartbroken and outraged at the response from some people who share my faith. On the other hand, I am grateful that these issues have exploded to the surface so that we can no longer turn our heads and pretend they haven’t been boiling under the surface for as long as anyone can know. I’m also grateful for some leaders within our faith community that have decided they can no longer sit back on the sidelines quietly and let the name of Jesus be used to cause such great hurt to others.
So, here is the question I’ve come to believe is really important for me, and anyone who claims to follow Jesus, “What are we doing to cultivate good ground in the lives of others?” Jesus loved to teach people through small stories that were meant to teach a bigger spiritual lesson through relating things to everyday situations. These parables are found all through Jesus’ teachings. There is one parable in the Bible that is found in three of the gospels (Matthew 13:1–9, 18–23; Mark 4:1–9, 13–20; Luke 8:4–8, 11–15) called the Parable of the Sower. In each recounting of this parable, he tells the parable and then goes on to explain it a few verses later. The story, as summarized by me, goes like this, there is a sower who goes out to plant seed. As he is planting, the seed falls on various types of ground and it’s growth and fruit is impacted by the ground it fell on. More specifically, some seeds fell by the wayside and were eaten by the birds. Some fell on stony ground and the plants failed to grow deep roots and were scorched by the sun. Some fell among thorns and as the plants grew, the thorns choked them out. Finally, some fell on good ground and produced tremendous crops. Then, just a hop skip and a jump ahead in each retelling of this parable, Jesus gives his disciples an explanation of what this parable means. Jesus explained that the seed that is planted in the parable is the word of God. The different ground is equated to how the word of God is received and how faith in Jesus does or does not grow in their lives. Give Luke’s retelling of this parable a quick read for more details on this. Growing up, I was primarily focused on which person I was in the story. Was I a person whose faith could be choked out by the thorns when life got tough or was I a person who had deep enough roots to not have my faith wither when the sun got scorching hot in life? That’s a fair and useful question to ask. However, that’s not the question that has kept me up at night lately.
This parable doesn’t specifically ask people to do anything to change the ground the seeds fell on. I don’t want to put words in Jesus’ mouth because His words are exactly enough as they are. However, the Bible does include scriptures that teach us the importance of cultivating the ground and preparing the soil. The question that I have found myself asking over and over again is this, “What can I be doing to cultivate good ground in the lives of those around me that will allow the seed to fall on good ground?” What is my role in the process of preparing the ground in the lives of my neighbors, my friends, my family, my colleagues? I’ve wrestled with this question and I’ve come to believe that nearly every action I take is either a small step in cultivating good ground or a small step toward contaminating the soil.
I love to garden. This love was born as early as I can remember and has grown throughout my life. My grandparents owned a seed store and greenhouse when I was growing up and going there is still among some of my happiest memories. Early in the spring, before the winter had even passed, my grandparents and a team of people would plant seeds in big containers of dirt. They would be carefully watered and cared for in the greenhouses until the time came that they were big and strong enough to pull apart and plant in individual containers to get ready to sell. I can still smell the fresh trough of dirt and feel the way it felt as I dug my hands deep down in it to scoop it out into flower pots. I can see my grandma standing there filling pots and then carefully taking each little plant and putting it in freshly prepared dirt. Planting has never been a haphazard process to my family. It’s methodical. It’s calculated. It’s not to be taken lightly.
Getting the ground outside ready to receive these plants is also no small feat. Each spring, when it’s time to get the garden ready, we go through a whole process to get the ground prepared to receive the seeds or plants. First, we start at the surface. We clear it of all the debris left behind from the winter, the old flower pots, the tomato cages we used last year and forgot to put away, and the dead plants that are taking up space from last season. Then, we have to go below the surface. We start pulling roots of tiny trees that sprouted in the fall and need to be cleared, digging up roots of weeds that have grown deeply into the soil in the short amount of time and will spread throughout the garden if they aren’t fully removed, and clearing the soil of anything that will get in the way of giving our plants their best shot at growth. Once the soil is clear, we start tilling. This is my favorite part. Hands down. As you move up and down the dirt, the hard surface that was not at all ready for new growth is broken up, turned over, and starts to soften. I love the feeling of my feet starting to sink down into the freshly softened dirt. Once the ground has been given a once-over by the tiller, I usually rake out the debris that was turned up, like little pieces of weeds and grass. Next, it’s time to mix in some awful smelling fertilizer that gives the ground the nutrients it takes to support healthy plants. Once that smelly compost is scattered all across the ground, I till it in. The old ground starts to mix in with the new yummy nutrients and the soil is ready to be planted. Only after the ground is fully cultivated do we plant the seeds. Many things in gardening are outside of humans’ control. Things like how much sunlight we get, how much it does or does not rain, what the temperature is, and on and on. However, the process of cultivating the ground is something that we can invest in.
I have come to see the importance in asking the question, “What can I be doing to cultivate good ground in the lives of those around me that will allow the seed to fall on good ground?” I have come to realize how, as a follower of Jesus, I can easily be walking around spraying weed killer on the lives of others if I am not really careful with what I do in the name of Jesus. If people see other people discriminating against others in the name of Jesus, not looking out for those in need, choosing a political party over a relationship with family and neighbors, or passing on hate and intolerance rather than love and acceptance, I believe that dumps toxic poison in the ground of the lives of people we claim to be trying to reach. I believe those very behaviors are some of the thorns that grow up and choke the seeds of faith that have been sprouting in the lives of others. On the flip side, I believe that being present with people who may or may not share your faith or your opinions, learning from them, listening to people who hold different beliefs than you, helping someone walk through times of grief and loneliness and loss, engaging in small but meaningful acts of kindness, and investing in the lives of our children can go a long way in cultivating ground that is much better prepared to receive seeds that are planted. It helps clear some of the stones that were in the way of roots developing. It helps break up the ground so the roots can grow deep and take hold. It helps build a foundation.
As I say goodbye to one of the most impactful years in my lifetime, I’ll be asking myself this question, “What can I be doing to cultivate good ground in the lives of those around me that will allow the seed to fall on good ground?” I hope that you’ll join me, and that as a result, the ground in the lives of so many beautiful individuals will be richly cultivated and ready to bear delicious fruit that changes all of eternity.
