One of the most well-known parables of Jesus is the Parable of the Sower found in Mark 4. A Sower sows his seed, and he scatters it in a variety of places. Some, on a path, is eaten by birds. Some springs up quickly in rocky soil, but withers because it has no root. Other seed lands among thorns and is choked out. Finally, some lands on good soil and produces a crop.

Jesus goes on to explain the parable to his disciples. The seed is the word. All the soils hear the word, but all have different responses. The seed along the path is eaten by birds- representing Satan- before it can even take root. The rocky soil hears the word and accepts it immediately, but it doesn’t grow strong roots. Without a good root system, the seed that shot up quickly is soon scorched by trials and persecution that comes because of the word. The seed sown among thorns is like the people who hear the word but get choked out by the worries of this life, causing it to bear no fruit. Finally, the seed on the good soil falls and produces a crop well beyond what was sown.

You see, the soil of our hearts matters. Do we have soil filled with worries and desire for other things that will choke out our desire for God? Is our soil one that’s filled with rocks, causing weak roots and withering when the sun beats down on us? Have we received the word? Or is it stolen before even taking root? Or is our soil good? Full of nourishment and tender care for the word that has been given to us? How is our fruit?

I’m not a visual person at all. When I read, I rarely see anything in my mind. But as I pondered this analogy and thought of the farmers it was spoken to; I wondered what they thought. Did they have real-life examples run through their mind? Did they think of a time when rocks and thorns ruined their crops? Did they have a mental picture of a full harvest in good soil? As I pondered, I wondered if our Sunday School class could try it out. Here’s what we did.

Experiment

What You’ll Need:

• Observation Sheet
• 3 cups with holes in the bottom for drainage
• 4 seeds
• Soil
• Rocks
• Thorny plants (I didn’t have any thorns, so I used a succulent that was taking over my garden. I’m sure thorns would work better, but it’s what I had)

What You’ll Do:

• Label each of your three cups: Rocky, Thorn, Good
• In the rocky cup, place mostly rocks on the bottom and then scatter a very small amount of soil on top. Plant one seed.
• In the Thorny soil, plant the succulent (or whatever thorny plants you have), then plant one seed.
• In the good soil, plant one seed.
• Keep observations, timing how long it takes for a bird to eat your remaining seed, and seeing what the soils do.

We had some success and some failure with our experiment. We started our plants off inside under a light. Then we gave them equal time in the sun, eventually keeping them outside all day. Our rocky soil plant shot straight up and died quickly by breaking when exposed to the sun and wind. It did get a bean first, but it died quickly. The thorny soil never came up at all, though my daughter wondered if she forgot to plant it. Oh well! The good soil actually produced two beans. Unfortunately, birds don’t really like beans, so our bean was never really snatched up off the path.

Not everyone had the same results. Many had their rocky soil grow really well. I think it happened because there was too much soil. Make sure you really fill with rocks and only sprinkle soil on.

Some parents were bothered by this, afraid their kids would no longer believe the Bible, so use at your discretion. At the end of the day, God’s word isn’t wrong, we simply only have a small sample that we’re working with. But it was very cool for many of the kids to see this parable come to life. I think my favorite part of the whole thing was how often the kids were looking at these plants and thinking of the story. To me, any time a child dwells on a passage from the Bible is a win, so I love the experience, regardless of the results.

How Does it Apply to Me?

Our heart soil matters, and we have the ability to cultivate it. We can be on the look out for things that are “choking” out the word in our lives. We can check how we’re handling persecution and struggles. We can ask God for strength and help in these areas so that our heart soil can be nourishing and good, producing fruit for his kingdom. Take a look at your heart soil today. Where can you ask God to help you grow?

Free Resources

For more free Sunday School lesson plans with experiments like this one, click here.

To take kids on a deep dive into the Gospel of Mark, check out my free book Come and See: A Kid’s Companion to the Gospel of Mark.