The Power of a Seed
May 22, 2010 by Mike Knapp
Filed under Featured Articles, Spiritual Growth
Have you ever tried to grow grass? Stick with me now, I mean the kind that makes your yard look pretty! I recently seeded over our yard. In less than two weeks we have beautiful new grass springing up. I am amazed at this since our newly planted seed suffered such violence in the past week. I really didn’t expect it would grow. The fact that it has taken root and is doing well is a testimony to the power of a seed.In Matthew 13, Jesus compares God’s truth to seed. There are other such illustrations. I couldn’t help thinking about this as I considered the freshly sprouted growth in our yard.
Wash Out
The first crisis arose within two days of planting the seed. We experienced torrential rainfall…for a week. At first I was glad for the rain since I wouldn’t have to water the seed in. But as the downpours kept coming one after the other, I lost hope. I was certain that my newly sown seed was all washed away. What a surprise when I found it present, alive well after the deluge! What kept it from being swept away? The seed got stuck among all the little weeds and large tufts of the old dead grass. God’s truth has a way of accomplishing the same thing. It tries to sink in among the areas of our heart that are sort of dead and weedy. The seed is powerful enough to get started there, but we’ll have to tend to it so that it doesn’t get choked out. If you want the seed to grow, you’ll have to work on killing the weeds.
The seed that fell among the thorns represents those who hear God’s word, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the worries of this life and the lure of wealth, so no fruit is produced. (Matthew 13:22)
Stolen Seed
What do you think I saw during the first day of rain? Birds. Lots of Birds. Standing in my yard eating my seed. In the rain, eating my seed. They made me nearly as crazy as my sworn arch-enemies, the moles. The moles are the filthy vermin that ruined the yard to begin with. They burrowed in to eat the tasty grub worms. They kept burrowing and burrowing until they had simply ruined our yard. Moles are also know to chew on the roots of certain kinds of grass until it dies. (Insert several loud and angry expletives here.) The point is that we have to be on guard or our seed will be stolen from us. The spiritual truth that we hear will never take root if we don’t apply ourselves to really understand it.
When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. (Matthew 13:19)
Hard Ground
Another problem for our seed was that we have such hard ground. There is a lot of rock in our yard, and after the grubs and moles had perpetrated their vile evil deeds upon our lawn (insert more expletives), there were large areas of bare ground left to bake and harden over the past couple of years. We tried to prepare the ground for the seed by breaking it up as best we could. God often does the same with us. We must sometimes experience a “breaking” process in order to even be able to receive the seed of God’s word. Otherwise, it will never sink in, take root and grow.
The seed on the rocky soil represents those who hear the message and immediately receive it with joy. But since they don’t have deep roots, they don’t last long. They fall away as soon as they have problems or are persecuted for believing God’s word. (Matthew 13:20-21)
The Power of the Seed
I have seen seedlings split concrete open, grow right up through the crack and become a tree that eventually destroys the concrete. I believe God’s truth can do the same in us if we will embrace it. Do you want God’s power in your life? I believe we will continue to be surprised what the Bible, God’s words of truth for us, will powerfully accomplish if we don’t harden our hearts to it, if we seek to understand it, and if we don’t choke it out.
So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls. But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. (James 1:21-22)
