Every single seed contains a miracle within itself. The miracle begins to unfold when someone plants that seed.
In the Parable of the Growing Seed (Mark 4:26-29), Jesus illustrates one more time how the kingdom of God works. In four short verses He uses a familiar analogy to remind us that it is God who unlocks the miracle in every seed. Our task is to sow, trusting Him to do His work in people’s heart.
In the parable, the fruit does not depend on the sower but on the life that is in the seed itself. “A man scatters the seed on the ground. Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how.” Once the seed is scattered, the farmer can rely on the Lord to do His part.
This parable of the kingdom is deeply encouraging. In fact, it has been called the Parable to End Discouragement. Something transformative is so profoundly built into the Gospel that it will bear fruit, while we sleep or are awake.
But while the life of the seed is not dependent on us, a second clear message is simply that the seed must be sown before it can germinate and burst into life! The analogy from agriculture used here tells us that a seed is nothing but a seed until it is planted. Then, once it is planted, a marvelous transformation begins.
We can take away four encouraging facts about God’s Spiritual Harvest:
The responsibility of the sower is to sow in hope, trusting the Lord to bring forth fruit.
The comparison of the Gospel with a growing seed assures us that there is life in the message of salvation and it will produce a crop from its inherent power.
The true condition of the soil is not in question. Jesus says, for the second time in Mark 4, that we are to scatter the seed, liberally and generously.
In the Gospel, God has committed Himself to lost humanity. In the final analysis, He will cause the Gospel seed to grow and bear fruit that remains.
Let’s sow the seed faithfully, scattering it far and wide, trusting our sovereign Lord to make it grow, while we sleep and while we work!
BY DENYS BLACKMORE,
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR