Growth of the Mysterious Eternal Seed

Growth of the Mysterious Eternal Seed
By Bob Mumford www.lifechangers.org

God’s kingdom is like seed thrown on a field by a man who then goes to bed and forgets about it. The seed sprouts and grows—he has no idea how it happens. The earth does it all without his help: first a green stem of grass, then a bud, then the ripened grain.

It is mystery how anything can grow out of a pile of dirt. When I was a kid there was a huge maple tree in front of my house and one of the seeds dropped into the crack in the sidewalk. Eventually, that seed grew until the whole sidewalk was pushed up. I can remember flying over the concrete ramp that the roots created on my scooter made out of orange crates and old skates.

Jesus compares the Kingdom of God to a seed. In so doing, He reveals several aspects of the Kingdom that will help us know the Father’s ways and move with them. It is always fascinating to see how the four Gospels amplify and clarify different aspects of the Kingdom of God. The parable of the Sower is pivotal, far-reaching, and monumental in helping us understand the Kingdom mystery. Mark, after recording this parable, adds important and fundamental insights:

1. Casting Seed. This implies that our confidence is in the Seed because it contains all that is necessary to produce fruit.

2. The growth of the Seed is a mystery. We sleep or rest in the power of the Seed and we embrace the mystery that we do not really know how the growth occurs.

3. The Seed bears fruit in its season. The earth brings forth fruit from the Seed by some “automatic” process. It grows and produces fruit by itself. We can cultivate, water, and nourish, but we cannot make the fruit grow.

4. Harvest of fruit. The harvest cannot happen until or unless the fruit has appeared.
What a beautiful picture Mark gives us of how the Kingdom fruit does not emerge fully mature. As the crop grows, we first see a green stem of grass, then the bud, then the ripened grain—and only when the crop permits is it harvested for use. Every farmer knows the futility of forcing a seed to grow. He also knows it is not possible to plant watermelon seeds today and get watermelons tomorrow. The farmer quickly learns not to give himself a spiritual hernia trying to make the seed grow or reap a crop before it is ready.

THOUGHTS & QUESTIONS
• What does the nature of the Seed tell you about Father’s ways?
• In what areas of your life have you cultivated, watered, and nourished the Seed and are now waiting for fruit?
• In what ways have you given yourself a spiritual hernia trying to produce some characteristic or spiritual attribute?