© Kerry M. Pierce
The image The Four Soils was inspired by the parable of the Sower. (Mark 4:3-20; Matthew 13:3-23; Luke 8:5-15). The Gospel writers give us a little extra with this parable. Besides the parable, we are given the purpose of parables and as a bonus, an explanation of the parable.
I will explain the image by asking myself: Kerry, what type of soil are you?
This is somewhat painful, but we begin.
The Holy Bible in shown in the center of the image. Surrounding the Bible are four Kerrys. They all hear the Word of God. The Kerry on the left is shown with a small black bird in his mind which has devoured the Word and prevented it from entering into his heart. There have been times in my life when I was so busy sinning that even though I heard the Word of God, I immediately blocked it because I didn’t want to look at my reflection in the Spiritual mirror. Consequently, nothing Spiritual made its way into my heart.
The top Kerry has let the Word into his mind but his heart is made of stone preventing the Word from penetrating into his heart. These are the times when I would hear a moving sermon, or see a great film, and feel inspired to become the next great church leader. After the event which triggered my short flash of inspiration I didn’t do any follow up. Two days later the feeling of inspiration faded away. I must have done the rocky soil thing a dozen times.
The Kerry on the right lets the Word and the world enter into his mind. The world is symbolized by gold coins. Both the gold coins and the Word enter his heart dividing his heart into two separate masters. This is where I spent much of my adult life. I went to church. I checked that off my to-do list. My to-do list also had get a bigger car, get a nicer house, make more money, and take the next step up the corporate ladder. I did make a lot of money, but I bore little or no fruit.
The bottom Kerry hears the Word. He closes his eyes and deeply reflects on the Word allowing it to penetrate into his heart and become part of who he is. In turn, he bears fruit. He is surrounded by dozens of small Bibles which he in turn sows using his gifts to help further the Kingdom of God. Down the path a bit I became regenerate. I read Scripture constantly and when I wasn’t reading it I was thinking about it. I am finally to the point of using the gifted parts of my life to glorify God and further His Kingdom. I bear fruit. Finally!
So there are some interesting details embedded in the image that I will bring out in Part 3.