Mark 4:26 – And He said, So is the
kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground.
Jesus was the master communicator of all times. He spoke to people in
such a way that they could understand and apply what He was saying. He did not tell
people that the kingdom of God is like rocket science, calculus or quantum
physics, and that should make most of us very happy. In this case, He was
speaking to people who understood farming; they understood the value of growing
food for family and others; indeed, for them and many today, they had a vital
and intensely practical connection to the ground.
In studying the term kingdom, we learn that in the original language, it
has the connotation of basic or basis; in other words, the kingdom of God is simple
and foundational. We do not need any new truth because God has given us His
Word which is the truth. We do not need to discover any so-called ‘lost’ books
of the Bible for we have sixty-six ‘found’ books to focus on and that should
keep us all very busy. We do not need any additions to the truth any more than
we need additions to the alphabet. Let’s just keep it basic and simply assemble
the letters together and build, and there is plenty of material to work with
for there is an unlimited number of potential combinations.
Jesus said that the kingdom of God is uncomplicated, like a man casting
seed into the ground, and it doesn’t get any more basic than that. When we were
in our primary grades at school, we put seeds into small containers of soil. We
watered them and watched them grow over time. It was an appropriate life lesson
that all must learn; seeds sown and nurtured will eventually produce a harvest,
and we reap precisely what we sow, be it good or bad.
Man cannot create seed. He can plant it, cultivate it, and, as we know
today, he can even modify it, but he can never create it. The seed comes from
God; it is His stamp of Supremacy; it carries the indelible mark of the Creator,
and it lies within His domain. Luke tells us, in his gospel, that the seed is
the Word of God and Peter informs us, in his letters, that God’s seed is
incorruptible and endures forever. Just as God never needs to brag, likewise, the
seed never boasts of its power; it grows silently and increases steadily until
it bursts forth out of the ground and no matter what kind of opposition comes,
it eventually breaks through all barriers and conquers its enemies.
Jesus is giving us vital instruction that clarifies the responsibility
of both God and man. God has roles to play, man has roles to play, and the
kingdom has rules that come into play. God alone gives the seed, which carries
the latent power, and man alone sows the seed, which releases that latent
power. God took the first step and buried His power in the seed, but now man
must take the next step and bury the seed in the soil. God and man working
together to produce a result; that is the kingdom of God, and that kind of
partnership is what He desires to have with us. Be encouraged, friends, you and
I are not helpless victims of the circumstances of life, we do not have to
surrender and submit to whatever comes our way. No. We can take the seed of
God, which is His Word, and sow it into our lives and into the lives of those
around us and watch it grow slowly and steadily until it prevails; bringing
about victory over every adverse circumstance.
