This week, I was talking to a friend who was feeling pretty overwhelmed and depressed. Family problems, work pressures, and the seemingly endless downward spiral of the financial crisis had him wondering aloud why any of us should even keep trying.“What’s the use,” he groused, “our lives really don’t amount to much, anyway.”
“Ever see a seed?” I asked him. Of course he had, and just that quickly, I shared with him what I call the Parable of the Seed.
You see, it’s just a seed to you, but to God it is the fulfillment of His plan… about to happen. Just a seed, like many others, and conditions may not be right for it to germinate for years. As a matter of fact, it might be blown about by the wind, washed about by rain, pushed down into the muck, and even buried under ground.
Buried… well, that would seem to be the end of it; but no, for God has placed into the tiny seed all the details of His plan for that fragile little seed. Though far underground, the seed begins an astonishing process: it begins to grow! In the darkness of the earth, against all the pressure and weight above it, the germinating seed begins to push upward, all the while reaching down further into the earth in search of nutrients. Pushing up and straining down, the seed eventually breaks through into the light.
Now, guided upward by the light, it grows at an astonishing pace, and must reach deeper and deeper for nutrients. The very struggle to grow and survive is what drives the roots deep enough to provide strength and security. With its roots as an anchor it can survive the storms that are part of the world. The seed doesn’t know it’s a tree, but it forms a trunk, and branches, and leaves… all the while setting down firmer and deeper roots. It continues to stretch, and spread, and grow. It weathers storms and drought, and it provides safety, shelter, and a home for many others.
Eventually, the tree produces fruit; a delight to others, but never tasted by the tree itself. In producing fruit, the tree also begins to send out seeds. Each fruit contains seeds to produce many trees; each seed containing the perfect plan to go from seed to tree, to fruit, to seed.
Certainly, we are not trees. God has an even more awesome plan for each of us than He has for a tree. When it feels like you are buried, when the world is crushing you, when everything seems dark… are you trying to grow? Are you setting down roots? Are you striving to grow toward the LIGHT… toward the Light of the World… toward God? Are you growing where and when you can? Are you stretching? Are you welcoming to others? Can others find shelter, rest, and a home within your sphere of influence? Are you producing fruit? Are you sharing your fruit freely, or trying to hoard what you will never taste? Are you sending out seed?!? Are our churches as faithful as a tree? I wonder.
The good news is: All of us CAN be even MORE faithful than a tree! We don’t need to be overwhelmed or depressed. For the tree, God’s plan is built right into each seed; a maple seed will always produce a maple tree. It’s exciting to know that God has a plan for each one of us, too.
Though God has a plan for each of us, we are given the free will to seek God’s plan for our life, or ignore it. We begin to germinate in God’s plan when we acknowledge Jesus as our Lord and Savior. We grow in God’s plan when we lay down roots in fellowship, worship, study, and prayer. We begin to produce fruit and seed in God’s plan when we welcome, and give, and share, and teach, and live God’s word. Take a step on faith and you will stop being overwhelmed and depressed… you’ll be too busy growing up in God’s plan.“God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.”
- Hebrews 11:40
“Then Jesus asked, "What is the kingdom of God like? What shall I compare it to? It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his garden. It grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air perched in its branches."”How deep are your roots? How wide are your branches? Ask your church these questions, and see what germinates.
- Luke 13:18-19
Your brother in Christ,
Dave
“What’s the use,” he groused, “our lives really don’t amount to much, anyway.”
ReplyDeleteI habitually denigrated my worth, as did my family, when I was growing up. But my husband didn't. He told me how much I was worth to him. And when it comes down to it, we are worth dying for, as our Lord did for each of us!
A couple of months ago I was spiralling down and down emotionally, completely overwhelmed, in seemingly all areas of my life. Then I am focussing only on the problems, and not on my Friend and Lord Jesus. But my sisters and brothers in Christ attacked a major problem/project, which took an enormous burded off of me. So, the rest of my life didn't seem so overwhelming then. My friends were helping to water the seed of my faith so it didn't wither. He is my refuge and my strength, whence cometh my help, and a very present help in time of trouble (I have mixed a few verses together; I am not where I can find a Bible right now). It is a real blessing when friends remind us of the love of God. And there are so very many blessings which I might ignore if things were always going 'just fine' all the time.