PRISCILLA: What is the parable of the sower, Polo?
POLO: Well, there was a huge crowd following Jesus because everybody was eager to hear what he had to say.
MAURICE: Yes, they were so determined to get close to Jesus, he had to climb into a boat and teach them from there.
POLO: Jesus was talking about God’s spiritual kingdom and how things work there.
PRISCILLA: Maurice, where is God’s spiritual kingdom? I’ve never seen it.
MAURICE: You won’t see it, Priscilla, because it is invisible. It happens within people’s hearts.
PRISCILLA: So, now we know that. What is the parable of the sower all about?
POLO: The farmer sows good seed in his field, and this seed represents God’s word spoken to all sorts of people.
MAURICE: And the different soils represent how open people are to God.
POLO: So, the first soil is someone who is not interested in what God wants.
PRISCILLA: Oh, the farmer’s seeds, which is God’s words, just bounce off that hard, dry soil.
MAURICE: And the birds, which represent God’s enemy, come and eat up all those good words.
POLO: Because their heart is hard, they refuse to listen to God.
PRISCILLA: So, that is the first soil in Jesus’ parable. What about the second soil?
MAURICE: Well, this soil was soft, but it had no depth. The seed could grow and start to spread its roots down.
POLO: So these people start to get excited by God’s good words, but they are shallow and are not rooted in God’s word.
MAURICE: When they hit problems in their lives and are mocked for believing in God, they turn away from God.
POLO: And Jesus tells us that the plants start to grow. But because they are not well-rooted, they shrivel up and God’s good words die in their hearts.
PRISCILLA: What about the third soil in this parable?
MAURICE: Jesus tells us that the seed grows.
PRISCILLA: That is good.
MAURICE: Yes, but the hearts of these people want to get rich, and they worry about lots of things. God is not enough for them. They do not fully trust him.
POLO: So all these things distract and lead this type of person away from God.
MAURICE: And they choke out God’s word, just like big thistles smothering small, pretty plants.
PRISCILLA: That must bring us to the good soil, which produces a fruitful crop. What does that actually mean?
POLO: The good soil represents the person with a good heart who wants to listen to what God says and who wants to follow what God wants.
MAURICE: And that is Jesus’ parable of the sower.
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