IN THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE BIBLE LESSON February 1, 2010 Issue

CULTIVATE THE FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT

GENELLE AUSTIN-LETT

This Week's Christian Science Bible Lesson, titled "Spirit," opens with Jesus' parable of the sower and the seed (Matt. 13:1–9, Responsive Reading). Immediately we are immersed in distinguishing among four types of soil: wayside, stony, thorny, and good.

A farmer in Judea would have known how difficult it would be to get the seed into "good" soil. Today in this region the terrain continues to be hilly and rocky. Farming is done on small strips of land without fences. Between the strips of land are well-worn, three-foot-wide paths that look like paved sidewalks.

When seeds fall on this "wayside," they have no chance of survival. Further, the stony soil is filled with huge unmovable rocks. While this soil allows the seedling to sprout, there is no place for the roots to go, and the seedling is caught between rock and scorching heat, and can't live. As well, thorns and weeds are always a nemesis to farmers and gardeners. Without careful tending the plant gets overcrowded and choked. The good soil, on the other hand, is the fertile ground, where the crop, if properly tended, will grow abundantly.