The risks of sowing

There's something disconcerting about the parable of the sower:

Behold, a sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside and the birds came and devoured the seeds ...

Why did the birds devour those seeds? That's not counting other seeds that were scorched by the hot sun and choked by thorns.

Only some of the seeds made it onto good soil, and produced fruit ...

We find later that the seeds are the words of the kingdom.

Words of the kingdom ... and only some result in fruit?

You might be critical, and think God's love is insufficient to protect the seeds so that they all bear fruit.

Or you might be astounded at the generosity of God, that he would indiscriminately scatter his word everywhere without reserve so that all possible fruit can be assured of its yield.

It's either chintzy-ness on God's part.

OR: God loved the world so much He risked sowing everywhere.

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Mark 4.1-9 Again he began to teach beside the sea. And a very large crowd gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat in it on the sea, and the whole crowd was beside the sea on the land. And he was teaching them many things in parables, and in his teaching he said to them: “Listen! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it. Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and immediately it sprang up, since it had no depth of soil. And when the sun rose, it was scorched, and since it had no root, it withered away. Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. And other seeds fell into good soil and produced grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.” And he said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

Matthew 13.18-19 Hear then the parable of the sower: When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it ...