DAY 254 - The Seed

-->

Genesis 22:15-18 (NRSV) ¹⁵ Then the angel of the LORD called to Abraham a second time from heaven, ¹⁶ and said, “By Myself I have sworn, declares the LORD, because you have done this thing and have not withheld your son, your only son, ¹⁷ indeed I will greatly bless you, and I will greatly multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your seed shall possess the gate of their enemies. ¹⁸ In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”

Mark 4:30-32  (NIV) ³⁰ Again he said, “What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it? ³¹ It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds on earth. ³² 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.”  

What strikes me in the promise to Abraham is the power of the seed. This is a unique picture of power to conquer and to bless at the same time. The seed conquers the barren land and blesses it with life. This is our hope, whether we are a teenager entangled in the process of growing up, or a young adult who has discovered there are some thorns in the rose garden of life, or a middle aged adult who is too wise to believe any significant change can come to them, or an older adult who believes they are past producing anything. The seed conquers the barren land and brings it to life.

And that is exactly what we see and experience in the person of Jesus. The picture of the Messiah as a seed, small but growing, almost imperceptively slowly, yet conquering, taking over more and more barren land and giving it life is one that offers us hope. The seed is growing and producing the life of Christ in us, opening us to an awareness of God, conforming us to His plan and pattern, enabling us to fulfill His purpose. And Paul says that the life of this seed is our hope when we face the final barrenness of death. The seed has the unique power to survive death, even to bring life out of dying.

Jesus pictured His work as being like a mustard seed. Every person who was healed, every resistant heart broken to belief, every person laden with sin who was forgiven and cleansed was evidence of a new power that had broken into the world and would grow. The mustard seed depicts the exciting reality that the insignificant and unexpected can silently change the world. Small acts of kindness, small projects of hope, small struggles for peace and justice are seeds that will grow because God has given them the power to grow.

From a sermon preached by Henry Dobbs Pope December 2, 1984

© Rhonda Hinkle Mitchell

DAY 253 - Still Changing the World

John 13:34-35 (NIV) ³⁴ “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. ³⁵ By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

When it comes to love, confusion abounds. Pick up most any magazine in any given month and invariably there will be an article giving the scoop of what real love is and isn’t. Modern psychology has also entered the fray, speaking to how we confuse possessiveness, dependency, and people pleasing with love.

Jesus also entered the fray. He had some definite notions of what love was and what love wasn’t. He said, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.”  Jesus claimed to be the source for real love, and was unique in claiming that His love actually invaded life and was expressed through us. Other religions had believed that love was a gift of the gods or that love somehow emanated from God. But Jesus gave us both the power to love and an understanding of how we ought to love. And that was new.

Jesus also claimed that love is our one and only command. Love was not one of many responsibilities we had, but the one and only. In any given situation, I may not know exactly what to do. I might be churning inside with anger, or cringing with guilt or filled with worry, but nevertheless my responsibility is to discover how I ought to love. In this all the law and the prophets are fulfilled. And that was new.

Jesus also claimed that love meant sacrifice. When He later repeated the command to love, He said, “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John 15:13 NIV). Love means sacrifice, and that was new.

Jesus also believed that love was the most powerful force in the world. He staked His ministry and His life on this belief. Love was the power that softened and changed hearts, strengthened hearts, and steadied hearts. Jesus believed in the power of love to change the world, and this was new.

The love Jesus offers combines head and heart and might be called answering the call of Christ to compassion, to yearn from the innermost being for the well-being of others. Compassion is a call to act based on deep felt concern and conviction. Compassion is the emotion most frequently attributed to Jesus. It is the word He used to describe that master who forgives His servant, the Samaritan who stops to help a stranger, and the father who welcomes home his son.

From a sermon preached by Henry Dobbs Pope March 17, 1985

© Rhonda Hinkle Mitchell