Sowing time

I woke up wondering how seeds work. How can a thing the size of a No. 2 pencil eraser become an oak tree? I didn't get anywhere in my search. It was like the time I was obsessed with the idea of what keeps my heart beating 100,000 times a day. Or my question about how my body temperature stays at 98.6. The experts all want to talk about the heart's "self-firing bioelectrical chemistry," or the body's "self-regulating temperature mechanism." They don't get my question.

"How do seeds grow?" I Googled. "They germinate," came the answer. They grow by using soil, sunshine, and water. They push into the soil for nutrition; they grow roots downward and a stem upward. It all has to do with stamen and filaments and bees and breezes.

They still don't get it. But let's move on.

"Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap" (Galatians 6:7).

One thing we know about seeds and sowing is that "the farmer waits for the precious fruit . . . being patient" (James 5:7). That husbandman is given as a model for us to emulate. He is the quintessential man of faith and not sight. He puts out good money to buy unpromising-looking gritty matter that he will proceed to throw in a hole in the ground. (Of course, since he has seen things pan out well spring after spring, it becomes increasingly easy for him to believe that something the size of a peppercorn will become a juicy tomato. This growth in faith through practicing it also is a lesson for us to emulate.)

Once the seed is in the ground, the farmer sees nothing for many days. (And in fact there are some seeds that stay dormant for many months.) He does not say, "What have I done? Have I taken all my money and thrown it away with nothing to show for it?" No, he is patient, because by this time he knows.

What do you have to sow, reader? Some people have money to sow; God has blessed them that way. To them God makes this promise: "You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way . . ." (2 Corinthians 9:11).

Other people don't have money: "But Peter said, 'I have no silver or gold, but what I do have I give to you . . .'" (Acts 3:6). What he had was Jesus, and what he had was faith to heal in the name of Jesus.

I was thinking about something that we all have---words. Now don't frown and say, "Aw, what a disappointment. Just words." Spirit-directed words are good seeds! At this point in your reading of this post, stop and think of a word that has been said to you that has germinated into encouragement, strength, or hope. Think of a word that has been said to you that has yielded poison fruit. See how powerful that seed is.

Once I came to understand the power of words as seeds, I started becoming careful and prayerful about my words. I know now that there are no neutral words, only words that produce good effects in the spiritual realms, or words that produce bad effects. The wisdom I derive from the farmer is that I am not going to see results for a long time. But spiritual words never fail. So I can sow in hope; harvest is certain.

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