I used to read this parable and think about hearts. Rocky hearts. Thorny hearts. Good soil hearts. Then I started gardening. Now I think about the actual soil. How I’ve planted seeds in ground I didn’t prep and watched them struggle. How weeds have choked out plants I neglected. How the good harvests came from soil I took time to nurture. Jesus used farming metaphors because his audience understood them. They lived it. They knew that good fruit doesn’t come from shortcuts. We’ve lost that connection. But when you work the land, the parables come alive. The Kingdom of God makes more sense with dirt under your nails.