THE SEED AND THE SOIL
THE SEED AND THE SOIL
THE SEED AND THE SOIL
Crowds of people kept coming to Jesus. And, one day,he told them a story.
He said, ‘There was a farmer who went to plant his seeds. He scattered them all over the field. And the seeds fell in different places.
Some of the seeds fell on a hard path. People walked on them. Birds came and ate them.
Other seeds fell on rocks. They grew into plants. But they did not have deep roots. So they dried up.
And some of the seeds fell among the bushes. They started to grow. But the bushes crowded out the plants. And the plants did not bear grain.
But some of the seeds fell on good soil. Those seeds grew into a crop that was a 100 times more than the farmer planted.’
Later, his disciples came to him. And they asked him, ‘Jesus, what did this story mean?’
And Jesus said, ‘The seeds in the story are like God’s word. The seed that was eaten by birds is like when people hear God’s word. But, before they can believe it, Satan comes. He steals it out of their hearts so they can not believe it.
The seed that fell on the rocks is like when people receive God’s word with joy. But they do not have any roots. When a hard time of trouble comes, they fall away.
The seed that fell among the bushes is like the people who hear God’s word. But they worry about riches and the pleasures of life. This stops them from growing. So they never produce a crop.
But the seed that fell on good soil is like people who hear God’s word. They hold on to it. And it produces in them a huge harvest.’