This week is Parable 13, The Growing Seed found in Mark 4:26 – 29. This parable is told right after the parable of a Lamp on a Stand was told, as part of Parable 6. Here is what was the closing paragraph of that blog about parable 6.
Do you think you have heard the Word and grown? Be careful. If you listen faithfully to God and hear his teachings, you will receive more. Failing to listen to him will cause you to lose even what you think you have. Hearing the Word of God brings change. You either mature or go backward in your Christian experience. Do you have ears to hear? Only one type of soil produces maturing Christians. That soil is a good heart attuned to God as he reveals the meaning of his Word to you.
The Parable of the Growing Seed
26 He also said, “This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. 27 Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. 28 All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. 29 As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come.”
Only Mark records this parable. In parable 11 about the sower, this is different. The parable of the sower stresses the importance of proper soil for the growth of the seed and the success of the harvest, here the mysterious power of the seed itself is emphasized. This parable expands on the parable of the sower.
In this parable the man who is planting the seeds is viewed to be a believer, who is planting the seed in a non-believer. The seed itself represents the word of God. The best way to explain this parable is using my own story, well part of my story.
Growing up I would not have been confused as to being a Christian. I got into trouble as any young boy would, but nothing serious. I was just an overly active soul with a weird sense of humor at times. My mom tried to get me to go to church but I am guessing for the sake of her own sanity she had to give this up by the time I was in second grade. When I was about 11, I started going to a church a few block from my house which last for about three years, when I start Jr. High School.
I pretty much never went to church again for over 20 years, but over that time a couple, no more than a handful of people would plant a seed. Not one single person who planted a seed in my life, other than my parents, got to see the man I have become. None of those persons were church leaders either. One lady I particularly remember was kink of like a supervisor of the area that I had a paper route in. I would help her sometimes after school with customer complaints. She always had this strange music on, nothing like I hear before. It was a Christian radio station. She listened to nothing else. She never even spoke about God to me, but she was so different from many other adults I me. There was always a calm about her, even with dealing with upset customers.
I like to think that I am now planting those seeds. Many who read my blog, I may never see or meet, but hopefully these messages help those who have not committed their life to Jesus Christ to commit, or those who have made that commitment to make those next steps in fulfilling their role in growing God kingdom. May the Word of God make an impact on each and every one of you. God bless to you all.