Guest Post: The Miracle of Seeds

For the last 5 years, Tina and I have planted zinnias in the flower bed surrounding our yard lamp. In early spring, I cultivate the soil, mulch in some fertilizer and compost, and rake it smooth to prepare the seedbed. Sometime after Mother’s Day, we’ll carve little furrows about 8 inches apart, and drop in the seeds. They look like small, dead pieces of broken, dried-up grass or small twigs. Very unimpressive.

After a week or so of warm, spring sunlight and a few rain showers, the tiny seedlings push through the crust of the soil. They begin to grow – beautifully, mysteriously. By the end of June, the zinnias are knee-high and the buds are swelling. By mid-July, God works his magic and the intricate blossoms burst open in a dazzling array of many colors. And they’ll continue to bloom until late fall! Very, very impressive!

Seeds are an incredibly powerful part of God’s good creation. No one has ever duplicated a zinnia seed in a laboratory. No one knows exactly what combination of factors triggers their germination.  No one fully understands the mystery of their growth. No one can come close to replicating the beauty and life of the zinnia flower.

In Jesus’ Parable of the Sower (Mark 4:1-8), Jesus instructs us to be lavish “seed-scatterers.” We are to share God’s love, mercy, and kindness, and power everywhere – in all different kinds of soil. We can have confidence that the life, beauty, and power of the Kingdom is in the seed! We certainly don’t know how God causes the seeds we sow to germinate and grow. That’s his job. But we can be about the business of scattering seed all the time—through words, kind deeds, offers of prayer, acts of service, assisting others, and so much more—in your home, at work, in the neighborhood, in your community, in your church, and a hundred other places as well. Never be too preoccupied with the size of your daily “harvest.” Rather, be busy sowing seeds that have the potential to grow whenever and wherever God chooses!

Ben Hoerr
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