Seeds. The ultimate goal of every seed-producing plant. Yes, plants make their own food, but they use that energy with the final aim of making seeds. Some produce beautiful flowers, but their aim is not to provide us with something to “ooh” and “aah” over; they are attracting insects for pollination…to produce seeds! Some plants flower, then give us tasty fruit, enticing us to eat and then spread…seeds!
Within each seed is the blueprint for new life. When conditions are right, that seed will begin to grow and develop into a plant, the same kind from which it came. An apple seed will not develop into grass, and neither will a zucchini seed grow to be a rose bush.
Jesus used seeds to explain the Kingdom of God in Mark 4:26-28.
The Kingdom of God is like a farmer who scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, while he’s asleep or awake, the seed sprouts and grows, but he does not understand how it happens. The earth produces the crops on its own. First a leaf blade pushes through, then the heads of wheat are formed, and finally the grain ripens.
Science has taught us much about how seeds sprout and grow, and the conditions that make the process possible. Those conditions are even different for different plants! We all automatically think of the warm spring and summer weather increasing the greenery around us. But think of the jack pine, which produces seeds that are not released until a forest fire melts the resin protecting the seeds within the cones!
Paul wrote to the Corinthians about the seed of the gospel:
I planted the seed in your hearts, and Apollos watered it, but it was God who made it grow (1 Corinthians 3:6).
Have you been planting seeds as you go through your daily walk? One way we can spread the seed of the gospel is given in 1 Peter:
But in your hearts, set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect (1 Peter 3:15-16).
Is your hope showing, giving people a reason to ask about it, or are you walking around down-in-the-dumps, worried about the current state of affairs and the future of our society? Pick your chin up, and remember that your hope rests in the Creator of the universe, who “does not grow tired or weary” (Isaiah 40:28). Whatever is going on in the world right now, this is not the end. You will know it when the end is here, and Jesus comes “on the clouds with great power and glory” (Mark 13:26)!
As you share the reason for your hope, don’t be discouraged when you can’t see instant results in others’ lives. Remember the seeds? They only begin growing when conditions are right. Those conditions are going to be different for each person. You are not responsible for making the seeds grow, but you are responsible for scattering them!
Go out today with a song in your heart and a bounce in your step. Be ready to plant some seeds along the way. The Master Gardener is on your side!
Lauri Hawley 