Jesus urges Us to share the Good News (Yes, Spread the Seed but also - Trust Him)

“Jesus also said, ‘The Kingdom of God is like a farmer who scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, while he’s asleep or aware, 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. And as soon as the grain is ready, the farmer comes and harvests it with a sickle, for the harvest time has come’”
(Mark 4:26-29, NLT).

This Kingdom parable is found only in the Book of Mark, and its main point is that spiritual growth is continual, gradual and totally caused by God. The farmer is faithfully scatter the seed, let it germinate, sprout, and grow. Although the farmer doesn’t know how all this happens, he can depend on the process and can be certain of the growth of his crop. In the same way, God’s Kingdom begins in a person’s life with the seed of understanding that takes root, through the Holy Spirit, in the good soil of the person’s heart. That seed sprouts and grows into strong faith. But how that happens is God’s responsibility. While God uses his followers to plant the seeds, he gives the growth. As Apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthian believers, “I planted the seed in your hearts, and Apollo watered it, but it was God who made it grow” (1 Corinthians 3:6).

The disciples who heard this parable must have wondered about the difficult mission ahead of them, so Jesus explained they need not worry about how the Kingdom would grow. That part was up to God alone. Trust in His Sovereignty. Their job was to plant the seed (Why Jesus used a singular word the “seed”? Why not plural “seeds”? I don’t know the Hebrew meaning for this word, I can’t do online search now, but I think the seed means here both the Lord Jesus Himself, the Word became flesh and the Scriptures, God’s written Word. So to plant “the seed” mean spread the Good News of “Jesus and His Word”). The planting and growing seasons won’t last indefinitely, however. Eventually God will intervene and “the harvest time” will come, separating the grain from the weeds (read Matthew 13:30). The weeds (meaning the unbelievers) will receive judgment for sin; the good grain (meaning the believers) will be ushered into God’s eternal Kingdom.

Think about this: The two strongest lessons from the passage above are the important of sowing and the necessity of trusting. To share the Good News “the Seed” to as many people as possible and to trust God for the outcomes. In talking about the inevitable harvest time, Jesus was saying that we have a limited time to spread his Word. We should not become complacent or relax; instead, we should continue to live and speak God’s truth. At the same time, however, we have to trust God to work in people’s lives to produce the desired results. Maybe we can ask ourselves this question: Who are the new believers or the-not-yet-believers am I encouraging and nurturing by God’s Word today?

You, yes you, ask God to give you such a love for the truth you find in God’s Word

that your life overflows in living it and sharing it with others around you – even in your social medias network circle. Don’t force it but trust God for the development of others, even as you share the Good News with them clearly and with love. Amen.

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.