Christians and Atheists, what do you believe is the meaning of the parable of the sower?

“A man’s reception of God’s Word is determined by the condition of his heart.” A secondary lesson would be “Salvation is more than a superficial, albeit joyful, hearing of the gospel. Someone who is truly saved will go on to prove it.” May our faith and our lives exemplify the "good soil" in the Parable of the Sower.

http://www.gotquestions.org/parable-sower.html

it means some spirits naturally take to Gods word and it grows up into something substantial .. i detest the mainstream teaching about sowing your money into a big corporate church so you can 'reap' a reward .. makes me want to puke ..

the guy in the story was a really good gardner.

Yes, you don't need to be asking when Jesus explained it afterwards.

Jesus explains the meaning very clearly.