I am always amazed at how one small seed, planted in the ground, can cause a plant to grow and produce so much. From apples on an apple tree to corn on the stalk, it all begins with little seeds.
Genesis 1.29 tells us how God gave us seeds as a gift – “and God said, See, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the land and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food.” Our Provider is incredible beyond words.
The cycle of life is wonderful to me. The fruit and vegetables we enjoy are not only grown in abundance, they carry with them more seeds for planting and harvesting even more fruit and vegetables. God’s supply is generous and ‘superabundantly above all that we could ask or think.’ (Ephesians 3.20)
God tells us about seeds:
“…Isaac sowed seed in that land and received in the same year a hundred times as much as he had planted, and the Lord favored him with blessings. (Genesis 26.12) God multiples our fruits and vegetables and He multiples His spiritual blessings to us as well.
God tells us not to judge a seed by its size:
“Of all the seeds (the mustard seed) is the smallest, but when it has grown it is the largest of the garden herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and find shelter in its branches, but look what it brings!” (Matthew 13.32)
And He also mentions the mustard seed in comparison to how much faith it takes for us to pray and believe and receive, “He said to them, … if you have faith … like a grain of mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, Move from here to yonder place, and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you.” (Matthew 17.20) Doesn’t seem like it takes faith much to make great things happen.
Jesus spoke of the Word being like seeds in our hearts:
“But as for that [seed] in the good soil, these are [the people] who, hearing the Word, hold it fast in a just (noble, virtuous) and worthy heart, and steadily bring forth fruit with patience.” (Luke 8.15) God wants His Word to take root and grow and flourish in our hearts.
God wants us to use seed to win others for the Kingdom:
“…he who goes forth bearing seed and weeping … shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.” (Psalms 126.6) This is a very old-time way of speaking of winning souls for Christ.
Everyone plays a part:
” I (Paul) planted, Apollos watered, but God [all the while] was making it grow and [He] gave the increase.” (1 Corinthians 3.6). Our efforts are never ‘fruitless’ because God is the Force behind all our efforts and He never loses and nothing is ever wasted.
It is true, seeds are small. Sometimes we see our gifts as small, but God takes those gifts and causes them to grow. What we need to do is sow our seeds. Our seeds of kindness, a smile, a word of encouragement, a meal, a token of appreciation, supporting a good cause, listening to ones who need us to listen, sitting by the beds of our friends and family when life is changing from earth to heaven, and more. Every day, we have seeds to sow and give to others. We may not always see the reward here or visibly see how we touched someone’s life, but we have God’s word on the matter, that what we do, He will make matter. Some of us plant, some of us water, but it is God that gives the blessing and increase! We can sow a lot of seeds this Advent Season.
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