Monday, February 21, 2011

What Kind Of Seed Are You?

"Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop -- a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown." -- Matthew 13:8

In this part of the country, farmers are preparing the fields and starting to plant. Spring is in the air and though we know another cold snap is bound to come, we are almost tasting the fresh vegetables and fruits that we'll enjoy in a few months. We're certain that our crops -- whether big or small -- will produce abundantly if they have the right amount of water and sun.

In other words, our crops depend on God's grace to grow and become all that we dream they will be. I wonder if that's how God views us sometimes. It's like we are each an individual seed He has planted and He is waiting to see if we will grow and produce good fruit.

We have a choice, of course. We can stay where He planted us and eventually wither and die from lack of nourishment. Not because He didn't offer, but because we were too busy and self-consumed to partake. We can get excited about Jesus, then let that excitement fade away when we realize the work is hard and requires daily nurturing. Or we can be like the good seed and take in all the water that God provides through His Word. We can bask in the light that comes from the Son. And we can grow daily in service, producing abundant fruit for His Glory.

What kind of seed are you?

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Do You Know Jesus?

"Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn." -- Matthew 13:30

Every Sunday there are folks in church who aren't saved. No. I'm not talking about those who don't claim to know Jesus. I'm talking about people who call themselves Christians. Surprised? I'm sure a lot of other people are too, including a few who think they are Christians.

See, some people believe that going through the motions makes them a Christian. So they attend church most Sundays. They may give money. They may even volunteer on a committee or two. They do what they're supposed to do. Or what they think they're supposed to do. Church is just another job, an obligation, in a life filled with responsibility.

But they've never given their hearts to Jesus. They'll tell you about Jesus, much like a student reciting the answer to a teacher's question. They don't read and study the Bible. They may pray in public but they don't understand prayer that comes from deep within us. They've never felt that gut-wrenching grip that comes when a Believer holds on to Jesus with everything in her might.

It's heartbreaking really. How do you witness to someone who thinks he already has all the answers? How do you explain how it feels when the Holy Spirit enters your body? How do you tell them the difference between knowing who Jesus is in your mind and knowing Him as Savior and King in your soul?

Of course, some of the non-believers are truly good folks who don't understand. Others, no doubt, are blinded by a Satan intent on leading Believers astray. Sometimes you can tell the difference by a person's actions. A Christian lives life differently from a non-Christian. Other times it's impossible to tell who is and who isn't a Christian. No one knows our hearts except the Father.

Jesus has promised that one day He will return and sift through the crop of Believers, separating the "weeds" from the "wheat." Then, and only then, will we know for sure who among us is a Believer. In the meantime, each of us should ask God to search deep within us and remove any doubts. We should cry out to Jesus, not only for ourselves but for those around us who truly don't know our Savior so that they, too, might know His goodness and salvation.

Saturday, May 29, 2010

We Are Like Mustard Seeds

"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 your seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and perch in its branches.'" -- Matthew 13:31-32

I've always loved the Bible passages where Jesus talks about the mustard seed. As a child I wore one of those necklaces that had a glass-encased mustard seed and a little metal tag that said, "If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed nothing shall be impossible to you." I believed that with all my heart.

I know I am but a speck on the earth. There are billions of people and I am only one. And, yet, I am important to God. I belong to Him. He created me to honor Him. How can I -- a single soul in this great creation -- do that?

By allowing Him to use me as He will. We never know how our lives are going to touch the lives of others. We never know when a kind word will give a struggling mother the strength to leave an abusive husband and, thus, save her life. We never know when an invitation to church will lead a small child to the pulpit and hundreds of saved souls.

Each of us is like a mustard seed. We are small specks in this great world but when we allow God to guide our paths, we grow tall and strong. We become the tree from which branches of His Word reach out and touch those around us.