It's Not Rocket Science

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.