Christians are called to be the farmers, sowing the seed of the Word of God into the world. Of course the farmer wants to sow his seed only a good ground so that it will be fruitful. And there are often things he can do to prepare the soil. But this is not soley his responsibility. As he sows seed, I would imagine he would focus on what he perceives is good soil. But in the process, the seed also lands in places where the soil is not ideal. The ones along the path are those who fail to understand how the word applies to them. They don't take it to heart. Satan blinds their eyes to the truth, or puts mental stumbling blocks in their way. I'm always amazed when I hear someone from the intellectual elite say that Bible is difficult for them to understand. I think they must simply be reading it incorrectly. The Bible pretty much says what it means and means what it says. And thus people of all ages and generations have come to understand it. But there is a spiritual blindness that veils people's hearts.