Once upon a time, Jesus told people an important story. We call this story a parable. Jesus wanted to explain something to people that went beyond believing in God, and He did it with a simple comparison.
The story was about a sower. A sower is someone who throws seeds into a field to grow plants. Imagine the sower walking across the field with a bag full of seeds. He throws the seeds out wide with his hand, and they land in different places.
Some seeds fell on the path. The path was hard and firm, and the seeds could not sink into it. Soon birds came, pecking at the seeds and eating them.
Other seeds fell on a ground with many stones underneath. There wasn’t much earth there, just a thin layer. The seeds germinated quickly, and small plants grew, but when the sun shone hot, the seedlings dried up because they could not root deep enough.
Still other seeds fell among the thorns. The thorns grew up together with the little plants and suffocated them, so that they could not bear fruit.
But then there were also seeds that fell on good soil. Here the soil was loose and fertile. The seeds germinated, grew, and brought back many grains, some thirty, some sixty, and some a hundredfold!
Jesus told this story to show people that God’s words are like the seeds. They can land in our hearts, but it depends on what our heart is like. An open and good heart is like the good soil – faith grows and flourishes there.
Message of history
God’s words are meant to fall on good ground in our hearts. If we listen openly and well, we can see a lot of good growing in our lives!
Bible passage
The biblical passage that describes the parable of the sower can be found in Matthew 13:3-9 (Schlachter 2000):
“And he spoke many things to them in parables, saying, Behold, the sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some fell by the wayside, and the birds came and ate them up. Others, however, fell on the stony [Land]land, where there was not much earth, and it sprang up at once, because it did not have deep earth. But when the sun rose, it was burned; and because it had no root, it withered. Still others fell among the thorns; and the thorns grew up and choked it. Still others fell on good land and bore fruit, some hundredfold, some sixty, some thirtyfold. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”
