Day 20 – Issue 21

Be Still Know

2 Corinthians 9:6 NLT

‘Remember this – a farmer who plants only a few seeds will get a small crop. But the one who plants generously will get a generous crop.’

Sowing and reaping is something I knew little about until moving house. But now I have a personal interest. At the bottom of our garden we are seeking to develop a wild garden. Last year we scattered a lot of wildflower seeds, but sadly none took root. So there is little to verify that the seed was ever scattered. The birds ate it, weeds strangled them, it received too much or little rain, or the seed failed to germinate.

We have to consider what happens if the seed fails to germinate. Its husk will rot and the potential is lost forever, unnoticed by all. When God sows his spirit into our life we are to consider what it has been planted for; naturally for it to flourish. So what stops it? I’ve learned seeds require special treatment. They must be sown and nurtured effectively. What is small will grow given the appropriate conditions and care.

God sows seed into our lives that can germinate and flourish once provided with the correct conditions. The soil into which it is sown must be ploughed by God’s word. Stones, weeds and all obstructions removed. Then carefully planted, this seed of life demands the water of God’s Spirit, accessed through prayer. As it emerges above the soil it will need carefully planting out within the Church allotment and protected from frost and slugs until it has developed strength to both survive, blossom and fruit.

This is the story of our lives. We are seeded with God’s eternal life, and this seed never diminishes unless foolishly squandered through neglect. Following Jesus is an active business. It demands my attention. It is so much more than giving my assent to a series of prescriptive statements of faith.

QUESTION: Are you in the right environment for you to grow and mature in Christ?

PRAYER: Lord, generously pour out your Spirit so that your Church would grow up in you.