|
THE GROWING SEED
He also said,
“The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the
ground and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed
would sprout and grow, he does not know how. The earth produces
of itself, first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain
in the head. But when the grain is ripe, at once he goes in with
his sickle, because the harvest has come.”
The generally accepted interpretation of
this passage is that the Messianic Kingdom, which supposedly
would be inaugurated in a flare of glory, would, in fact, begin
small and move quietly toward the day of harvest.
But, as in the other parables, there is
more than one message here: He goes to bed at night, and the
seed grows and he doesn’t know how. A miracle! What the sower
does not understand, although his livelihood depends on it, is
the tiny miracle that takes place within the seed. There is
within the grain of wheat a command that tells it when to
sprout, not too soon and not too late. At exactly the right
time.
And what else lies within the grain? There
are commands that tell when the leaves, the head and the seeds
within the head should appear. This miracle would be remarkable
even if it were the only one, but there is more. Much more! The
same series of commands is contained in every seed in God’s
creation. The results are fruits and vegetables for our
nourishment, and flowers, whose colors and fragrance delight us.
But, as great as this series of miracles
is, there is still much more. The same God who instills in every
seed the command to grow and to produce, this same God loves us!
This is even more difficult to understand when we consider the
faults and frailties that we all suffer. How can he love such
creatures that are so unlovable? Who can say?
But the proof is that he sent his only Son
for our salvation. And what must we do to earn this salvation?
Only to believe. How can this be? We have only to refer to the
words of Jesus: Whoever believes in him shall not perish but
have everlasting life.
Our Heavenly Father, we are grateful to
you, not only for the miracle contained in the grain of wheat
(and all the other seeds), but so much more for your Son who
died to make everlasting life possible for us. Amen
Leslie Riggle
|
