I think I was avout 10.when I heard the parable of the sower. It was about a farmer who woke up early in the morning, packed his bag of seeds and headed to his farm. Along the way, some fell on the ground and birds fed on those. Some fell on rocky places where there is not much soil, the seeds sprang quickly but withered away when the sun scorched. Others fell on among thorns and were chocked. Then there were those that fell on good soil where it yielded into even a hundred fold.
I was trying to find a way for Isaac to understand the parable in an illustrative manner. I asked him to fill up instant noodle cups with soil of different types. We had two. The one containing a good soil mixed with fine saw dust, the other with rocks and a few pinch of soil. I asked him then to put some monggo beans on both cups, some monggo beans just on the cemented pavement, and scattered some on a sandy patch with grass.
Just the following days, tge results were out. Those on the pavement were gone. Those on the grassy and sandy patch broke from the hilum but did not push through. The ones in the rocky cup fought but adter two more days withered. The ones on the good soil became healthy and strong.
It was a first hand experience for my son. The experiment was all worth it.
Well the healthy plants did not produced flowers and pods and all. Isaac forgot to water and take care of the monggo plant. I told him that if he do not continue to live a prayerful life, his heart will end like what happened to that plant.
The Soil Beneath Our Feet
I was about ten years old when I first heard the Parable of the Sower.
In my young mind, I imagined a farmer rising before sunrise, carrying a sack of precious seeds over his shoulder as he walked toward his field. With every handful he scattered, some seeds fell on the hard path where birds quickly devoured them. Others landed on rocky ground. They sprang up almost immediately, only to wither beneath the scorching sun because they had no depth of soil. Still others fell among thorns, where they were slowly choked until they could grow no more.
Then there were the seeds that fell on good soil.
Those alone took root. Those alone endured. Those alone produced a harvest—thirty, sixty, even a hundredfold.
For many years, it remained just another Bible story in my memory.
Until I became a father.
Isaac is now being homeschooled. One of the joys of homeschooling is the freedom to turn ordinary moments into unforgettable lessons. As I was preparing our lesson that morning, a thought crossed my mind: Perhaps I could hit two birds with one stone. I could teach him a simple science lesson about seed germination while allowing him to experience one of Jesus' greatest parables with his own hands.
We took two empty instant noodle cups.
Into one, we placed rich soil mixed with fine sawdust. Into another, we filled it mostly with rocks and only a little soil. We scattered several mung bean seeds onto a patch of sandy ground covered with grass, and a few more directly onto the cemented pavement.
Then we waited.
Only a few days later, the lesson unfolded exactly as Jesus had described nearly two thousand years ago.
The seeds on the pavement had disappeared, likely carried away by birds.
Those scattered among the sandy grass cracked open but never found enough strength to push through.
The seeds in the rocky cup struggled bravely. They germinated quickly, but after another couple of days they wilted. There simply wasn't enough soil for their roots.
But the seeds planted in good soil stood upright, healthy and full of life.
It was a first hand information to Isaac. He was witnessing what I asked him to read in the scriptures earlier that morning before he gathered up soil.
He had held each kind of soil in his own hands. He had watched each seed struggle for life. The words of Jesus were no longer abstract. They had become something he could see, touch, and remember.
Our little homeschooling experiment became one of the most meaningful lessons we had ever shared.
Yet the greatest lesson came later.
Those healthy mung bean plants never produced flowers or pods. Life became busy, and Isaac forgot to water them. Little by little, even the strongest plants began to fade.
As we stood looking at the dying plant, I gently told my son,
"Do you remember how these were the seeds planted on good soil? They had everything they needed to grow. But even good soil is not enough if the plant is no longer cared for. In the same way, our hearts may receive God's Word with joy, but if we stop praying, stop reading the Bible, and stop walking with Him, our faith slowly withers."
That moment taught me something as well.
The Parable of the Sower is not only about the kind of heart that receives God's Word.
It is also about the daily decision to keep that heart alive.
Even the best soil cannot keep a plant alive without water.
Neither can a Christian grow without continually drawing near to God.
Originally published on Benjie's Bench - Measuring Life's lessons in Millimeters
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