Once upon a time, there was a farmer who was walking through his field, scattering seed. As he walked, he scattered the seed on the ground. Some of the seed fell on the path, and the birds quickly came and ate it up. Some of the seed fell on rocky ground, and it quickly sprouted, but the sun was so hot that the seedlings withered and died. Some of the seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked the seedlings. But some of the seed fell on good soil, and it grew and produced a crop, some thirty, some sixty, and some a hundred times what was sown.
The farmer was amazed at the different results he had seen, and he began to think about what had happened. He realized that the seed had not changed, but the soil had. The seed that had fallen on the path had been eaten by the birds, the seed that had fallen on the rocky ground had withered in the sun, and the seed that had fallen among the thorns had been choked by them. But the seed that had fallen on the good soil had grown and produced a crop.
The farmer was so struck by this thought that he decided to tell it to others in the form of a parable. He called it the Parable of the Sower.
The farmer said, “Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”
The farmer then said, “Whoever has ears, let them hear.”
The people who heard the parable were amazed at its wisdom. They realized that the seed was like the Word of God, and the soil was like the hearts of people. The seed that fell on the path was like the Word of God that is heard but not understood. The seed that fell on the rocky ground was like the Word of God that is heard and accepted with joy, but it does not last because it is not rooted in the heart. The seed that fell among the thorns was like the Word of God that is heard and accepted, but it is choked by the worries and riches of this world. But the seed that fell on the good soil was like the Word of God that is heard and accepted and produces a crop—some thirty, some sixty, and some a hundred times what was sown.
The moral of this story is that the Word of God is like a seed, and it will only bear fruit if it is planted in a good and fertile heart. We must open our hearts to the Word of God and allow it to take root and grow. Only then will it produce a harvest of righteousness and peace.
