The Parable of the Sower and the Seed......

The Parable of the Sower and the Seed……….

 

The farmer went out into his field with a big, flat basket of seeds and scattered handfuls of them as he walked up and down the field. It was a windy day and some of the seeds were blown outside the field, because it didn't have a hedge around it. They fell on the road and birds swooped down and ate them all up. Some other seeds fell on the stony path around the field. They started to put down roots, but not very long ones, because of all the little pebbles in the way. When the hot sun came up, the seedlings were scorched and shriveled because they had no water in their little roots. Some other seeds fell into a thorny, weedy patch in the corner of the field. These grew too, but the weeds and thorns grew faster and tool all the water from the plants. The weeds got taller and the plants died for want of sunlight. But the seeds that fell on the rich earth that had been dug and made ready for them grew tall and strong. Soon they were a whole field of wheat, ready to be harvested and ground into flour to make delicious bread and cakes. The seed is the message of God's love and His word. When people hear the message, but pay no attention to it, it is like the seeds that fell on the road and were eaten by birds before they could grow. Other people hear about God's love and seem to understand, but if they don't really believe it in their hearts, they are like the stony ground where the plant can't put down good roots. And the ones who hear the message, but forget it because they are too busy worrying about their problems or trying to make money, are like the patch of thorny ground where weeds choke the plants. But the people who hear the message and believe it and act on it, by loving other people- they are the ones who are like a field full of wheat, and their goodness shows. (Matthew 13:1-23)