The Sower

“A farmer went out to plant his seeds.” — from Luke 8

Once there was a farmer who went out to plant seeds. He reached into his bag, took out a big handful, and threw them across his field. Let’s follow the seeds and see where they landed!

Some seeds fell on the hard path, where everyone walked. The path was too hard for the seeds to sink in. So the birds swooped down and — gobble, gobble — ate them all up.

Some seeds fell on rocky ground, where the soil was thin. These seeds grew fast! But their roots couldn’t go down deep. So when the hot sun came out, the little plants dried up and died.

Some seeds fell where thorns and weeds were growing. The seeds started to grow — but the weeds grew faster and taller, and crowded them out, until the little plants had no room and no sunshine.

But some seeds fell on good, soft soil. These seeds grew down deep and up tall, and they made lots and lots of new grain. What a harvest!

Jesus told this story, and then he told us what it means. The seed is God’s word. And the different kinds of ground are like different kinds of hearts.

Is your heart like the hard path, too busy to listen? Like the rocky ground, excited for a minute and then forgetting? Like the weedy ground, too full of other things? Or is it like the good soil, ready to listen and grow?

Here is the happy secret: even hard ground can be dug up and made soft and good. If you ask him, God will get your heart ready, so his word can grow big and strong inside you.

Dear God, please make my heart like the good soil, ready to listen to you and grow. Amen.