Di Farmer and Di Soils

One handful of seed fly through di air. Some fall for road. Some for rock. Some inside thorns. And some fall inside good, deep soil. Di same seed. Di same hand. Four different endings.

Na bright day for di shore of di Sea of Galilee, and di crowd big reach di point wey Jesus no fit stay for di beach. So e enter one boat, push am small from di shore, and sit down. Di people full di slope near di water. Di lake calm, and im voice carry go across. And e begin teach dem with stories. Parables, na wetin di Gospel call dem. Ordinary pictures from ordinary life, with something wey hide inside. Listen, e talk. One farmer go out to plant.

Everybody for dat hillside know dis picture well. Di farmer dey waka round im farm with bag of seed for im side, dey scoop am with im hand and dey throw am wide, round and round. No be careful careful work. Seed dey fall everywhere. Some of am fall for di hard road wey dey di edge of di farm, wey feet and animals don match flat. E just sit down for top. And di birds dey watch. Dem fly come down, and for one moment e don go.

Some seed fall for rocky ground, where di soil no deep at all. Dat seed dey quick. E spring up, green and full of hope, faster pass anything for di farm. But e no get where to put root. When di hot sun climb high, di young plants burn and dry die. Other seed fall inside thorns. E grow too, for small time. But di thorns grow faster and thicker, and dem choke am until nothing remain.

And some seed fall for good ground. Deep, soft, rich soil. E put root. E grow. E ripe. And for harvest time di farmer almost no fit believe im eyes. Some plants give thirty times wetin dem plant. Some sixty. Some one hundred. Then Jesus stop, and look di crowd. Anybody wey get ears, e talk, make e hear.

Later, di disciples come meet am with one question. Why you dey talk to di people with parables? Jesus tell dem say stories like dis dey open di secrets of di kingdom of God to people wey ready to listen, while di people wey refuse to listen go remain closed. Then e talk, Una eyes dey blessed, because dem dey see, and una ears, because dem dey hear. Many prophets bin wish to see wetin una dey see. And e explain di story of di farmer.

Di seed na di message of di kingdom of God. Di road na person wey hear am but no understand, and di evil one come snatch am comot, like birds wey carry seed. Di rocky ground na person wey receive di word with joy, but e no get root, so when trouble come because of di word, e quick fall away. Di thorns na person wey hear, but di worries of life and di pull of money press di word until e no bear anything. And di good soil? Na di person wey hear di word, understand am, and bear fruit. Thirty. Sixty. One hundred times.

Two things for stand out for di first people wey hear am. Scholars wey study di land of Galilee explain say di rocky ground no be farm wey full with small stones. Na thin soil wey cover hard rock, wey look fine for top, so di seed shoot up quick and die quick too. And then di harvest. For di book of Genesis, when Isaac reap one hundred times wetin e plant, di Bible tell am as sign say God don bless am. Harvest of one hundred times na something wey people go dey talk about for many years.

Di Farmer and Di Soils. You go find am for Matthew chapter thirteen, verse one to twenty-three. Di farmer no hold im seed back. E throw am everywhere, and anywhere wey e find good ground, e grow pass anything wey e fit hope for. Di same message dey reach all of us. So see one question wey you go carry dey go. Which kind soil your heart be today, and wetin fit dey press di good seed?