This is the parable of the farmer and the seed.
The more I study about scripture, the more I understand and read into the words and stories when I read scripture.
It is so easy to take the lessons at face value. If scripture truly holds essential messages for life then it must reveal a deeper truth than that which is evident on the surface. Face value is reading it through the eyes and understanding we already have, yet God and creation is far greater than we can think or imagine. As I become more aware, more open to the possibilities, more will be revealed. Scripture's message will change every time I read it.
There are two important aspects to this passage. One is the parable and its meaning, the other is the purpose for speaking in parables.
A possible interpretation of the parable is that when seed falls on all ground, it grows where it is appropriate for that seed to grow. Just as there are seeds for wet soil, others for dry soil or sandy soil, so the word of God is passed down to us in ways that we can hear. Some are Christians, some are Muslims, Hindus or Atheists - the message is still there and there is a seed, a word for that soil.
Parables allow people to hear according to their readiness - some hear a story, others a metaphor and others find deep esoteric meaning.
On reading this scripture story in the Gospel of Thomas, I began to realize the deep philosophical thought that is needed to interpret much of the Word. Is that why the simpler writings were mostly chosen to compile the Bible? Are we now in an age when more are ready and able to hear the deeper meanings? Is that why they have been hidden until recently?
Creation is too great to be contained in one static book.
One way to read the parable is through the interpretation given by the writer of Luke's Gospel.
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