Scripture
by Robin Wiley
Mark 4:26-29
The Parable of the Seed Growing
26 And he said, “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground. 27 He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how. 28 The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. 29 But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”
Have you ever considered the power of a seed? We live in a world where most of us can travel a short distance to a grocery store or fruit stand, buy fruit or vegetables, and return home to enjoy something that was cultivated in dirt by someone else. We consume the fruit and toss the rest. Jesus wants his Disciples to understand that long before a harvest is collected, some faithful person scattered seed to begin a process that only God can oversee.
For the past several years, my two sisters (who live in Minnesota), shared a small garden for the summer. They would plant the usual vegetables: tomatoes, carrots, onions, lettuce, potatoes, etc. and also some beautiful flowers. One summer, they decided to plant butternut squash. In case you were wondering - butternut squash is like a crooked and funny looking pumpkin.
They planted just a few seeds in one of the corners of their garden and were shocked at what happened. Soon vines stretched through much of the small garden producing about sixty butternut squash! If you have ever prepared this squash for dinner, you will see all the small seeds it contains inside, sometimes as many as 160 seeds! (Yes, they counted them before!!)
So without using a calculator (or your phone) let’s do a little math. 160 seeds multiplied by sixty butternut squash is 9,600 new plants that could be created. If each of those 9,600 seeds had been harvested and re-planted, a yield of 576,000 new butternut squash could be cultivated in just one generation. That’s a lot of butternut squash! Think of how many people that would feed.
Jesus knew the implications of sowing good seed. The harvest belongs to the Lord, but we, his faithful disciples, get to spend our lives sowing the seed of Gospel truth and love wherever we go. We too might not always see the fruit of what we sow. Someone else may even harvest what we plant. That doesn’t take away from the need to be continually sowing.
God’s plan calls for some of us to be “planters” and some to be “harvesters.” Paul talks about the Gospel ministry like this: “I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow” (1 Corinthians 3:6). Paul planted the message of salvation, Apollos helped the new believers grow stronger in their faith, and it was the Holy Spirit who guided them into His truth. He continues in verse 8: “The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor.”
We all have a part to play. We are equal team members but equipped for our own special role by God. God has planted you specifically where you are today for His glory.
Reflection:
Look around you. Are the words, actions, and attitudes you plant reflecting God?
What are you sowing in your family, neighborhood, job, and relationships?
What weeds do you need to pull out?
How is your harvest?
Prayer:
Father God, Thank you for the seeds of your Word we can scatter in our own lives and in the lives of others. Show us how we can grow closer to you and share what you have given us with others. Give us grace each day to sow seeds of faith into our hearts and the hearts of others. Please us experience the fullness of joy that comes from placing the harvests in our life at your feet. We pray all this in the mighty name of Jesus! – Amen!