Pastor's Corner: Seeds, seeds and more seeds

I’ve been enjoying Pastor Kevin Barsotti’s columns on reaping and sowing, Biblical financial principles, etc. We just finished a series of messages at our church on some related topics, and I want to offer some thoughts about seeds that I hope will complement Kevin’s recent columns and not be redundant.

First, seeds are very important to God. All kinds of seeds. When God created the earth, He created all living things to produce after their own kind, through seeds (see the first few chapters of Genesis). Then God’s original plan was damaged. But before Adam and Eve ate from the wrong tree, i.e., before the Fall, God already had a plan to save us from the consequences of that Fall. God first mentions His plan when He talks to Adam, Eve, and the serpent after the Fall, as recorded in Genesis 3:15. To the serpent He says, “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.”

Obviously the “seed” with a lowercase “s” refers to Adam and Eve’s progeny. Who is the Seed with a capital “S”? The Apostle Paul explains the reference clearly in Galatians 3:16-17, which says “Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, ‘And to seeds,’ as of many, but as of one, ‘And to your Seed,’ who is Christ.” Jesus is the Seed whom God would eventually send to take away the sins of the world.

The Gospel of Luke records 77 generations from Adam to Jesus. We don’t know for certain if all the generations are listed but 77 is an impressive number. Think of it: Throughout 77 generations every time the enemy of our souls tried to get rid of Jesus’ ancestors so as to prevent the promised Seed from coming, God intervened in a mighty way to make sure His plan came to pass. Abraham waited a long time for his son Isaac and tried to make God’s plan come true on his own, but Isaac finally arrived and God protected him. His son Jacob started out as a schemer, but God watched over him and he was radically changed through a personal encounter with God. He then had 12 sons, one of whom, Joseph, was sold into slavery and put in prison. But God watched over him and eventually he was released and put in a position of authority. He ended up saving his family members (and Egypt) from the severe drought. Thus, God’s plan was still moving forward. King David could have been killed by Saul or in any one of various battles, but instead he became king as God had promised.

And on it goes. There’s at least one story for every generation. After Jesus was born, King Herod tried to get rid of him by having all the male children killed, but God gave Joseph a dream to show him how to protect his family. My point is this: If God so carefully and powerfully watched over all those generations, will He not also watch over you and your “seed,” your children, your family line, your concerns, etc. Indeed, He will and He does! Little do we realize all the things He is doing every day to protect and bless us.

Second, God created this amazing substance called DNA. An apple seed has all the DNA, all the genetic code necessary to eventually grow into an apple tree and produce apples, which produce more seeds. Every human being starts out as a cell that contains all the DNA to produce a unique person. To this day, doctors and scientists don’t know exactly how different groups of cells “know” that they should become skin and other cells “know” to become the eye, etc. The process God came up with is truly awe-inspiring.

In the spiritual realm we often use the metaphor of a caterpillar turning into a butterfly to represent the transformation that occurs when someone accepts Jesus as Savior and becomes a new creation (see 2 Corinthians 5:17). In the natural realm, the caterpillar crawls along, chewing on leaves, leading a “normal” life and then at some point it begins spinning a cocoon. Somehow inside the cocoon, the DNA is altered and what springs forth is a whole new creature, a beautiful butterfly. So, too, in the spiritual realm, a whole new creature bursts forth when we invite Jesus to enter our lives and transform us. We leave behind our old life and all its trappings and begin to soar and explore our brand new existence. Something radical has happened at the “seed level,” if you will. The Apostle Paul noted (multiple times) in Scripture that Jesus is the God’s firstborn among many godly offspring. When we are adopted into God’s family, there is truly an amazing transformation.

Third, almost anything can be a seed. Take prayer, for example. We combine our prayers with faith and offer them to God and they bear fruit in changed lives. Time spent with someone we love is a kind of seed. We invest our time and share our hearts and the “crop” that comes forth is a deep, rewarding relationship. Obviously, money can be a seed, Pastor Barsotti has already covered this topic very well.

Finally, we ourselves are seeds. You probably noticed in some of the Bible verses referenced above, God refers to human beings as seeds. You’ve probably heard the old phrase, “Bloom where you’re planted,” and that’s exactly what God asks us to do. He plants us somewhere for a season, and we commit ourselves to live there, get to know the people around us, and share His love with them. Some of you may also recall an old song, popularized by Bette Middler, called “The Rose.” The first several lines list various ways to describe love, all in negative terms (e.g., “some say love it is a razor, that leaves your soul to bleed”). The conclusion, though, reinforces my final point: “I say love, it is a flower, and you, its only seed … . Just remember in the winter, far beneath the bitter snows lies the seed that with the [Son’s] love in the spring becomes the rose.” So, I pray blessings on you as you go about spreading seeds of kindness, grace, mercy, love, and so on! May the harvest be bountiful, beyond your wildest dreams!

——

Vicki Barrows

Abundant Life Ministries