Seeds

I always receive so much by listening to Andrew Wommack (Gospel Truth, Nov. 9). He always challenges me out of any complacency I consider accepting.   He also makes me laugh. This week he was discussing the concept of the Seed.   Since I am also awaiting with great anticipation the ‘outside’ arrival of my granddaughter (she actually arrived 9 months ago), it seemed especially poignant to consider the beauty and strength God creates from a seed.

Interestingly enough, my daily Bible reading simultaneously landed upon Jesus’ reference to the mustard seed and all the potential the Father placed within it, though it is so tiny as to be almost unnoticeable.  I remember decades ago reading a wonderful book called Poustinia, from which I retained a strong visual image of an extremely large tree, solid and firmly rooted, with birds and other animals resting in its branches and humans doing likewise underneath.  Catherine Dougherty challenged us to become such trees, having developed fruitfully throughout our lives in both the stillness and friendship of God’s presence.

Some of us lament our age; others rejoice in it.  I believe we should always choose the latter, whether we are in the first few decades or the final quarter. Young, middle-aged, or seniors, we can aspire to be such trees. We seniors should exult in what God has wrought in us through the decades. We should offer respite to others of any age. Let's give that solace, peace and hope which result from keeping company, through trials and triumphs, with the One who created us...the One who has gradually taught us wisdom and humility through the years.

The seeds He gave man at the Creation held within them the life of future plants similar to themselves, yet never exactly the same; He is such an artistic Creator. The unique secrets and potential he encased within all of us only develop into the beauty He planned, when we allow Him to tend, guide, and prune us along the way.

We don’t have to understand and foresee it all; we just have to trust Him that He will cause everything to flower in its time, if we cooperate with Him.  Things which seem impossible, inconceivable, and even ludicrous, become reality when we trust in Him with a pure heart and allow Him to transform us and others near us in the garden. One plant sends seeds drifting onto others and onto ready soil, where it springs up to in turn bear fruit, bringing life and health with it.

Unfortunately, seeds not planted by God can also follow the same pattern, bringing forth evil, which we thoughtlessly spew forth in the form of criticism, judgment, and negativity. Bitterness is a tare with deep roots.
Let's be awe-inspiring mustard trees, pointing upward. Let's invite others to rest under your branches, no matter how old you are. Ask God to help you rid the ground beneath you of any tares which might lead others astray. Don't let them be confused by the uncomfortable, lumpy ground beneath them. Don’t let them come for rest and find discord. Be the kind of tree whose branches remind them of the Everlasting Arms.  And while you’re planted there, grab his hands and pull those arms about yourself, too. You’ll make Him smile.
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“The Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed which a man takes and sows in his field. 32 It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it grows up it is larger than any garden plant and becomes a tree, so that the birds flying about come and nest in its branches.”   Matthew 13:31-32.

For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.  -1 Peter 1:23 (unlike verse 24)