This is the way the whole kingdom of God operates, Jesus says, like the planting of a seed. In Mark's Gospel chapter 4 Jesus tells three parables which set forth the most powerful and basic spiritual law revealed to Man, the Law of Gradual Growth. God is known as a miracle working God who is capable and willing to exercise His sovereignty and change things in our lives in an instant. And yet God's number one way of operating in our lives is by way of gradual growth and maturity from small beginnings. We see this principle in operation throughout the natural world that God has designed, and it is the grand theme of His master symphony of Creation.
The whole kingdom of God operates like the planting of a seed. What is this seed? What is the small beginning from which things grow into existence? It is the Word of God. It is God's Word which is the primal substance from which everything came into being. "In the beginning was the Word." And God said, "Light, be. And it was." This has never changed. God speaking to us is His way of transferring everything He has into our possession. Things come into existence in our lives first as a Word from God planted into the soil of our hearts, where it produces faith. We begin to speak and act on this faith, and gradually, over a period of time, as we exercise the fruit of patience, the things we speak come into existence. Jesus said, "All things for which you ask and pray, believe that you have received them, and they shall be granted unto you."
Let's think for a minute what we know about a seed. First of all, it is the dormant or latent form of the organism which it produces. It contains the blueprint for the entire organism, but yet it is so small and insignificant and humble that it doesn't appear that way on the surface. So it is with God's Word. His promise seems a long way from fulfillment when we first take hold of it and believe it. We also know that a seed is incorruptible. As long as a seed is never planted or never gets wet, it will stay in this dormant state indefinitely and never produce. So it is with God's Word. If the Word simply remains as something written in the pages of your Bible and is never internalized and acted upon, it will remain dormant and unfulfilled. Next, when a seed is planted, it germinates, and enters a very dangerous and vulnerable period of its life cycle. The seed has many enemies: the birds of the air, lack of soil, and competing thorns which try to choke it out and hinder it from producing. There are many enemies to your bearing fruit also, and you have to protect your heart with all diligence while the promises of God are working unconsciously from within you. Finally, the seed must have time to grow. The maturation comes as a process: first the blade, then the ear, then the full corn in the ear. Most things worth having don't come to us overnight, even if they are supernaturally given by God. They come to us by the principle of gradual, steady growth from small beginnings.
As we journey toward wholeness in our lives, God's Word will restore us and heal us from the hurts of the Fall of Man by this same gradual process. If you are unwilling to receive wholeness from God in this capacity, and want it all now, all-or-nothing, you may spend your entire life awaiting the one moment of miracle that never comes. Today you need to get the seed in the ground. Find the promises of God that deal with your circumstances and begin to internalize them. It may not seem spectacular, but you'll begin to see supernatural change in your life. This is supernatural Christianity.
@ copyright 1994 by Scott H. Northrup. All rights reserved.