Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.
Matthew 13:3-8
It is easy to think that the fourth soil was just sitting there, ready made, but in reality, good soil invites growth of nearly any kind. Therefore, the soil had to be prepared. In particular, it had to be plowed, turned over, aerated, the old growth buried to fertilize the new seeds.
This sounds all fine and good, unless you think about it from the soil’s perspective. You’re lying there, comfortable, set, compact, when all of a sudden a metal blade cuts through you and upsets everything. It doesn’t just pass once and move on, but makes a series of regular cuts until you are completely displaced, your innermost hidden parts are now torn up and exposed. Doesn’t sound like so much fun now?
