Note 1: My friend Jon Swanson is leading an online Lenten devotional based on Mark’s gospel. I recommend that you check it out as a way to prepare intentional for Easter.
Note 2: My small group is also doing a study of Mark. That sort of “coincidence” leads me to wonder if I’m supposed to pay special attention.
This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. All by itself the soil produces grain … Mark 4:26-28
I’ve been really busy lately. I’m working on a book manuscript and a workshop based on RICH’S RIDE. This morning I found myself wondering if I could skip a day of blog writing. I wasn’t exactly talking to myself, but I was asking a few tough questions.
Who’d notice? What difference would one day make?
Do you ever have that kind of internal discussion with yourself?
Then I tried some different questions.
Why do I write a blog? Do I believe the words matter? Do I really believe God works through this blog?
He also said, “This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come.”
Again he said, “What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it? It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds on earth. Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with
such big branches that the birds can perch in its shade.” Mark 4:26-32
As you can see, I decided to keep my commitment. I don’t know where these words will go or whom they’ll touch. I don’t know who would notice or what difference they’ll make.
But I do believe God works through the seeds I scatter, even when I don’t see how.
I wonder how many opportunities we miss by insisting on our own notions of worthwhile outcomes, or how often we quit when seeds don’t germinate immediately. Mostly we never fully appreciate the effects of our actions. Persevering, doing what’s right, keeping commitments, and following the path—those are hard things when we can’t see that the effort and sacrifice make any difference. Maybe that’s why Jesus used so many planting analogies.
This blog, like RICH’S RIDE, scatters seeds. I believe God places those seeds in the right lives and adds fertilizer and water. Results sprout and mature in places and ways I’ll never see. I believe the results depend less on the size of the seed and more on the gardener’s faithfulness.
We proceed with faith, hope, and love, trusting that God would use our efforts even when we didn’t understand the specifics. Knowing that God’s at work, and that He always works for good, has to be enough.
God is doing a new thing—all the time, all around you.
Please leave a comment.
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