How to identify good soil?

Jesus said, "Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces." (Matthew 7:6)

And,

"But other seed fell on good ground and yielded a crop that sprang up, increased and produced: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred." (Mark 4:8)

Obviously He doesn't want us wasting time and effort on people who are obviously not going to be productive. That's not that we don't love them and pray for them however. But He seems to want us giving our first priority to the good soil where the seed will be productive.

So, my question is: How do you identify good soil?

Good soil is usually found around a Church.

For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.

Hi...
I thought this Scripture was about when men were expelling someone from the church , and Jesus is saying with the other witnesses "For where two or three are gathered in my name , I am there "

I'm talking about before they bear any fruit or not. We want to plant our seeds where they will bear fruit. Are there any signs beforehand that tell us this is good soil for planting?

I would say the whole parable helps understand the different soils

If you look further In Matthew there he explains the parable

“Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower.

When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side

. But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it; yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.

He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.

But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭13:18-23‬ ‭KJV‬‬


it is based solely upon hearing the word of the kingdom and how we respond

sometimes we hear the gospel and think hey alright I’m saved ….but it doesn’t root and satans snatches it away

other times when they lose friends or become less popular this stifles the words growth

other times they believe but money and wealth , the lusts of the world corrupt them and leave them Fruitless

but there are those that hear and believe and let the gospel become thier life they embrace the gospel just as Christ embraces them they learn from Jesus and follow after him and become fruitful in doing so they are proven to be his disciples

I don't think you do. The sower sowed the seed in all 4 grounds. You have to wait for the fruit to show up.

from kelloggarden.com --

so.. materially speaking, good soil has life in it, & has rich color & texture.
does this translate spiritually?

Mark 16:15

amen we need to become convinced

Our job is to sow the seed of the Gospel and let God identify the good soil. Each one will give account of himself to God.

You have to dig a little bit of course.

Excellent point.

That hasn't been my experience, I'm sad to say!

True. I think we also need to do a regular check on the quality of the ground that we are personally standing on, and being nourished (or not) by.

Try it, then you will see that it works.

Sometimes I think we invest a lot into soil that looks good by human standards—the best educated, the most income, the most well-spoken, the most presentable, the most capable. But Yahweh's idea of good soil might be the exact opposite—the broken, the bad, the ugly, the humble, the poor, the sinner.

"I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance." (Luke 5:32)

Are you asking I suppose then about identifying who among the unsaved will eventually listen and become saved?

That is not for us to know. We have to treat everyone who is yet to be saved as a person who may eventually become saved.

When I was in my unsaved state I did have a few encounters with Christians, and every encounter had it's own merit. I was impressed with the Catholic Church who had no problem offering me a hot meal when I needed one, I was so impressed with that since I wasn't their own people, that I broke down in tears. A couple encounters made me think some people are just nuts and a couple that were reasonable discussion with Christians, though they had no real effect at the time.

Beyond that, when it made a real difference was when I was asking the questions about the faith out of my own desperate need to understand. That was the hand of God upon me.

My thinking is that good soil is whenever people are open to listening and to asking their own questions. I personally wouldn't shrink from a Faith conversation with anyone... However on the flip side being a convert myself I would never ever be "pushy", or engage with people clearly full of hate.

In the end, I think the Spirit leads us on when to speak and when to walk away.