Sowing Seed (Lent)

Matthew 13:31-32

He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches.”

So many sermons and commentaries focus on how small and insignificant a mustard seed appears, but there is something else to be noticed. More attention should be given to the act of planting it in the field and what it takes to become the largest of garden plants.

A seed is about potential- a catalyst. Seeds, despite their size, have always held great value because they will feed us in the future. But if we hoard them in hopes of amassing wealth, they are wasted and lose their ability to germinate.

Not all seeds will grow into a thriving plant. It is not a given that we will become a thriving part of God’s vision. If each of us is a mustard seed, we have the opportunity to grow and thrive, to shelter and care for, bringing the kingdom of heaven to those we shelter and care for.

If God’s kingdom is like a mustard seed then it has the potential to grow and be used. We are also given the opportunity to sow seeds, to nurture growth in the lives of those around us, helping to grow a tree that shelters the next generation.

But first the seed must be planted and nurtured. Not left on a shelf. Not hoarded like gold.

And like all things in nature, plants have their season of growth and then wither. The seed perishes in the process of creating the plant. The plant that produces more seeds for the next season expends its life to create many more seeds. Once our own seed has been nurtured into maturity, we have a responsibility to nurture others’ seeds and growth. We have a responsibility in the present because we create the seeds of the next generation.

What we do in the present is what happens in the future. If we hesitate to act, waiting to grow and assuming someone else will sow the seeds, then we will not bring the kingdom of God near.

With all seeds, it is not about the humble seed which starts the process but what the plant becomes and produces that makes the world what it is. It is not where we start our journey, not even when we start, but where we end and what we have produced along the way that fulfills the mission of Jesus.

Please join me in prayer today.

Lord, may we grow in your mission to provide a present and future worthy of your vision. We are as small and humble as the mustard seed, but with your help and nurturing love, may we grow and thrive so that we may share all you have given us with those around us. May we spread your love in this world until the next generation grows to fill our place in this mission, Amen.

This devotional was written by Jill Pope and read by Greta Smith.

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