Sower and the Seed
Jesus told a lot of stories; this is one of them.
A farmer went out one day to plant his fields. [This was a long time ago when men would cast seeds about by hand.]
As he tossed the seeds about, they fell in different places. [Now, this was a good farmer. He planted seeds everywhere.]
Some seeds landed beside the field, outside of where he had plowed and prepared the earth. They did not last long. They were soon gobbled up by birds who found them lying on the hard ground.
Others fell on rocky ground in and around the field. These seeds sprouted quickly and, at first, looked like they would produce much. Sadly, there was little dirt there, so, when the sun came out, they had no nutrients or moisture and were quickly wilted by the sun.
Some landed among the briars by the field. They too rapidly grew, having plenty of soil, water and sunlight, but the thistles and thorns soon stole all of that from them and strangled them to death.
But some of the seed fell on the good, moist, rich soil that he had prepared for them. Now, this ground brought forth very much and different parts of the field gave even more than others.
Are you listening?
Matthew 13:3-9 ADV