SEEDS OF A BRAND NEW LIFE

"(Mark 4:26-29) He also said, “This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. All by itself the soil produces corn--first the stalk, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come.”

I have been thinking a lot about seedtime and harvest lately. This is one of those Biblical principles that is so foundational that it affects virtually everything we do. Everyday we are sowing seeds with our words and actions – some intentional, some accidental – but all powerful.

Seeds are nothing less than miraculous little containers of life. God established a principle during creation that says that every seed on earth will produce after its own kind. That means that the fruit of the seed will be a form of the life that is in the seed, which in turn means it is a form of the life that produced the seed. So apples (fruit) carry apple seeds. Apple seeds produce apple trees (life) which can’t produce anything other than, you guessed it, apples. The same is true of love seeds, and faith seeds, and generosity seeds, as well as hate seeds, and bitterness seeds, and greed seeds – which also happens to rhyme.

We are living in a time in this nation where seeds of rebellion, disdain for authority, reckless selfishness, and rejection of God, are really starting to produce their inevitable crop. We are feeling the loss of God and godliness on an unprecedented level in our culture and economy. This is one reason that I don’t believe a true “recovery” can come quickly. Some foundations in the fear of God, and a fresh application of the Word of God to our lives, will have to precede any genuine change in our nation.

Be that as it may, I want to focus closer to home for the remainder of this post. In the verses from Mark’s Gospel that are quoted above, Jesus made it clear that if we want to see a harvest of any particular fruit in our lives, we must become very diligent about planting the right seeds. We will be planting something, so it may as well be the right things. We are going to eat of the fruit of whatever we plant. So, what do you want to be eating in six months, or a year, or two years?

Jesus also pointed out that there is always a time element involved in this process. That means a couple of important things. First, you don’t get everything you want instantly. In fact, most truly great things take time to came to maturity and require patience on our part. Secondly, we can use the “due season” element of seedtime and harvest to our advantage or to our disadvantage. If you have been planting bad seed, use the time-lag to dig as much of it up as you can through genuine repentance. If you have been planting good seed, water and nurture that seed through prayer and fight the weeds that inevitably try to choke out what you are planting.

Finally, Galatians 6:9, 10 says, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.” So develop a never quit attitude about your life. The term “become weary” means, to get tired, faint, give up, quit – essentially to wimp out. Don’t let your current crop make you think that it is all you will ever see. Don’t give up because you don’t like what you have now. Get to work with God and plant a new crop. Sitting in the field crying isn’t getting you any closer to that new harvest is it? If you don’t like your harvest, start today; dig up that soil, plant new seed, and watch patiently and vigilantly, as it grows into something fresh and new. Before you know it, new things, living things, things that will reproduce themselves again and again will be popping up in your life. Then we can talk about your new, increased responsibilities that are related to all the new growth in your life.