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Cultivating the Seed

And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise. Galatians 3:29 NKJV

Life begins with a seed.

In case you’re wondering where seed comes from, “The seed is the word of God” (Luke 8:11).

God speaks and establishes all things by His Word. Every seed spoken into existence by God carries unlimited potential, holding within it everything necessary to explode into life.

The seed itself is good. Perfect. Lacking nothing.

But the seed will not emerge as life on this earth without encountering two other elements God ordained to cultivate and release its potential.

Curious? Let me show you.

When God created this earth we call home, He determined that every living thing upon it—all plants, animals, and people—would emerge from seed and carry seed to reproduce. For now, we’ll focus on the green stuff.

And God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth.” And it was so. The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening and there was morning, the third day. Genesis 1:11-13

Marvel at the beauty of God’s way: Life begets life. In God’s plan, living things always give birth to new life. Life flows and continues eternally. And God saw that it was good.

I love God’s declaration in verse 11, proving the creative power of His Word. And it was so.

Now I want to show you something interesting in Genesis 2:5-7.

When no bush of the field was yet in the land and no small plant of the field had yet sprung up—for the Lord God had not caused it to rain on the land, and there was no man to work the ground, and a mist was going up from the land and was watering the whole face of the ground—then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature. (Emphasis mine)

Do you see what I see, dear one?

God spoke all vegetation and seed bearing plants into existence on the third day. And it was so. On the 6th day, God created man, When no bush of the field was yet in the land and no small plant of the field had yet sprung up (verse 5).

You may be wondering the same thing that occurred to me. If God had spoken all plant life into existence—and it was so… and God saw that it was good—why was the earth still barren when God made man? Where were all the plants and shrubs?

Listen carefully, dear one.

Our inability to see something with our eyes doesn’t make it any less so.

God’s Word carries creative power. Whatever God speaks is as good as done. Accomplished. Established… in heavenly places (Ephesians 1:3).

But God desires to see what He established in the heavenly realms revealed on earth’s surface. And the glimpse Genesis 2 gives us into God’s ways at creation also reveals the way He works in our lives today.

God sited two reasons why the earth had not sprouted its vegetation.

  1. The Lord had not caused it to rain
  2. There was no man to work the ground

Interesting.

Apparently our triune God established that life springing up on earth’s surface would emerge through a partnership of three things: seed, water, and a person to work the ground.

We’ve already established that the seed is God’s Word. Perfect. Life-giving. Ready to create.

But Genesis 2 reveals that the fruit of that seed will not show up on earth’s surface without a human vessel to cultivate the soil and living water to open the seed, releasing the life within it.

Jesus said in John 15:8,

This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

We spend a lot of time wearily striving to produce fruit. But fruit isn’t manufactured, beloved. It’s grown through the one true Vine.

We can't manufacture fruit. It’s grown through the one true Vine. Click To Tweet

And fruit grows when a human being receives God’s seed—His Word—into a fertile human heart. Our job is simply to soften the ground, cultivating the soil by removing anything that hinders the growth process.

We must dig out anything that blocks belief.

Because when that seed is met with belief in the human heart, the Spirit within it sets the river of life flowing (John 7:38). He waters the seed with Living Water, releasing the power within the seed so that it springs up on earth’s surface.

What already existed—was so—becomes visible. Faith leads to sight.

And the fruit that has surfaced benefits everyone who comes in contact with it, scattering new seed.

So life flows, continuing eternally.

And lasts.

“You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last.” John 15:16

Wealth Without Sorrow

The blessing of the Lord makes rich, and he adds no sorrow with it. Proverbs 10:22

Have you ever noticed how sorrow seems to attach itself to the riches of this world? If you haven’t noticed, dear one, perhaps you should.

It’s time we get wise to the scheme and stop buying in. The prince of this world would tell us that money buys happiness. It doesn’t. When we look closely at those who have laid claim to the world’s riches, we rarely find the happiness it promises.

Instead, we find sorrow. Brokenness. Heartache. Depression. Addiction. Hatred. Loneliness.

Yet for some reason, we still believe the lie. We still long for the blessing of the world and seek its riches.

What if we just decided to stop believing it? What if, instead, we sought the blessing of the Lord?

Here’s God’s promise, dear one. His blessing will make you rich, and it comes with no sorrow attached.

The blessing of the Lord makes rich, and he adds no sorrow with it. Proverbs 10:22

Wouldn’t you love a little wealth free from sorrow?

Jesus provides that, dear one. He longs to make us rich. But the wealth of God isn’t limited to dollar signs as the world’s is. It’s all encompassing. He desires to make your relationships rich. He wants to enrich your marriages and overwhelm them with joy. He wants to make singleness rich, and even bring joy from your work.

Whatever situation you find yourself in, dear one, God longs to enrich.

He is the fullness of joy, and He longs to enhance our lives as we experience the blessing of who He is. But His purpose is even greater than that. He wants His blessing to so overtake and fill us that it begins to flow out of us and bless others.

Beloved, God seeks to pour out and multiply blessing through His people.

You see, that’s simply who God is. He blesses. In fact, that’s the first thing He did after creating man and woman.

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion . . . ” Genesis 1:27-28

Have you considered what that means for you and me, dear one? This is the evidence of God’s blessing resting upon us: His blessing prospers and multiplies.

Before we go further, I think we should consider what exactly God desires to multiply. What was God looking to accomplish with that blessing?

I believe it’s best understood through the context in which He spoke it.

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. Genesis 1:27

Apparently God didn’t want us to miss the fact that we were created in His image. He repeated Himself in case we missed it the first time. And this is the context in which He blessed them. “I have made you in my image. Now be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth with who I am.”

Can you even imagine it? A world in which every man and woman reflected God’s character? Where loving, giving, nurturing and selflessness were the norm?

Unfortunately, the deceiving serpent convinced Adam and Eve to step outside of God’s blessing. And when he did, he enslaved man’s heart, changing the kind of fruit we produce.

He replaced love with selfishness. Sorrow overtook our joy. Instead of peace, we naturally worry. Instead of patience, anger erupts. In place of kindness, we hurt people. Evil has overrun goodness. Faithfulness withers into doubt. Harshness crushes gentleness, and self-control is all but lost.

The fruit of God’s Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23)—meant to nourish, grow, and produce abundant life—has been replaced by the fruit of God’s enemy. The image of God has been overshadowed in the hearts of the people He created to reveal it. Instead, the character of man naturally reflects the image of His enemy.

God gives of Himself. Satan takes for himself.

Beloved, Jesus went to the cross so that you and I could once again reflect the image of God. He conquered the deceiver and poured out His Spirit to all who will believe, equipping us to become who He is.

For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. Romans 8:29

And now He asks us to take up His commission and do what we’ve been appointed to do.

You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last . . . This is my command: Love each other. John 15:16-17

Lasting fruit, dear one, will always find its source in love. Love drove Jesus to the cross. And if we allow it to come alive in us, love will change the world.

I think it’s time we let God fill the world with His image.

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Love never ends. 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 ESV