Creation Corner
Seeds and the Word of God
By Jim Doenges
Monthy series: June 2006
In the big things and the small things, God is amazing! Seeds are amazing little miracles, each and every one. Many seeds make great foods for us, and seeds are as varied as the plants they can become: tiny floating plants of the genus Lemna — only two millimeters in diameter — to a massive sequoia tree. Many seeds fall to the ground, but others travel by floating on the wind, hitching a ride on animals or our clothing, or by floating in the water. A plant called the Mary’s Bean — named after Mary, mother of Jesus — lives on the Marshall Islands in the Pacific Ocean. Mary’s Bean produces floating seeds that have floated all the way to Norway, which is 15,000 miles away. Amazing. Scientists recently found some 500-year-old lotus seeds, and they still germinate.
Jesus used the smallest seed known to the people of ancient Israel in a powerful parable — the parable of the mustard seed.
The Bible says that all things were made through Him, for Him, and by Him, so we can be sure Jesus knew there were much smaller seeds than the mustard seed growing outside of the Middle East. A species of orchid produces the smallest known seeds in the world. They are barely visible to the naked eye and weigh just 1/35-millionths of an ounce!
The largest seeds in the world come from the Seychelles Island Palm, which grow on an island chain in the Indian ocean and weigh in at more than 40 pounds. The genetic code within every seed contains all the information the plant will ever need throughout its life. Incredible. Whatever the size of the seed or the plant it produces, the power of the future life is in the seed.
In Biblical times, societies were agricultural. So it shouldn't surprise us that Scripture often spoke to the people of that time — as the Bible does to us today — using examples and terminology drawn from agriculture. For example, Jesus, while teaching in the Gospel of John, says he is like a vine and only in Him can we bear fruit. In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus is the shepherd who separates His sheep from the goats. In his second letter to the Corinthians, Paul describes himself as an evangelist, planting seeds in people that God will grow. These are a few of the many examples.
In ancient times the soil in Israel could be very hard. Plowing prepared the soil by softening and opening it so it could receive the seed and allow it to grow. Deuteronomy, Job, Isaiah, and other books of the Bible all talk about plowing to prepare the soil for the seed to grow. The Bible describes plowing as attaching two cattle to a yoke. People of Jesus’ day understood him when He said, “For my yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:30).
Jesus often taught using parables. In chapter eight of Luke’s Gospel, Jesus uses seeds in the parable of the sower. In this parable a farmer sows seeds, but the seeds fall on the road, rock, thorns, as well as on good soil. And on this occasion Jesus went on to explain the meaning of the parable. Jesus says, “This is the meaning of the parable. The seed is the Word of God. The seed on good soil stands for those with a good heart who hear the Word, retain it, and persevere...” (Luke 8:11-15).
Can a seed grow in dried-out, weathered, rock-hard soil? No, just as seed can’t grow in hardened soil that has not been prepared, God’s Word can’t grow in our hearts if they are hardened and we do not prepare our heart to hear God’s Word.
How can you tell if your heart is hardened? Your heart may be hard — or not prepared — if you have trouble concentrating when reading the Bible, if you become bored in your devotional time, or if you don’t feel enthusiastic about worshiping God. So where can you go and what can you do to prepare yourself, and become and remain fertile soil and receive the seed of life? The answer lies in the local Body of Christ — the church and all its many, varied activities. Of course, it all begins with accepting the seed of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and letting Him grow within us.
Today, there are approximately 1.6 billion Christians in the world. Christianity is the world’s largest religion. Isn’t it amazing that 2,000 years after Jesus’ body was planted in the ground, His Body would grow so large? When Jesus Christ is planted in your life, when His Word is planted in your heart, a miracle will occur … because the power is within the seed.
G.K. Chesterton wrote:
“If seeds in the black earth can turn into such beautiful roses, what might not the heart of man become in its long journey?”
Before you open your Bible and before you worship, ask Him to prepare your heart. Say, “Lord Jesus, I pray that you would prepare my heart to receive you. Give me a soft, open, fertile heart. Amen.” And God will answer your prayer. And our natural response will be a heartfelt desire to worship him!
As the Psalmist wrote:
“Light-seeds are planted in the souls of God’s people, joy-seeds are planted in good heart-soil. So, God’s people, shout praise to God, give thanks to our Holy God!” (Psalm 97:11-12, The Message).
Jim Doenges is the Director of Summit Stewards for Climbing For Christ. |