As a follow-up to last time (Gardening), I’ve read, and re-read, The Parable Of The Sower (and Jesus’ explanation that follows) several times this week.
I’m not a theology guy, so I’m sure there’s a lot I don’t understand. But one thing is extremely clear.
The soil conditions are pretty darn important.
Jesus seems to be talking about taking care of our hearts and making sure we are receptive to his message. I get that.
But He also spent a lot of His time talking about loving and caring about our neighbors, about making disciples. I have to believe that He might think the soil conditions are more than simply individual responsibility.
Maybe we don’t get to just toss seeds willy-nilly and then say we’ve done our part. Maybe the difficult, painstaking labor of preparing the soil, working and reworking it until it’s receptive, is part of our responsibility as gardeners.
What if it’s not a whole bunch of individual little plots of ground?
What if we’re all responsible for all of it, even the tough parts, even the parts we don’t like?
What if it’s a community garden?