Seeds

Thinking about seeds today... because they are something Jesus thought about a lot. I was reading the gospel according to Mark today, and chapter 4 is mostly about seeds, and how they are like the kingdom of God: the story of the Sower, the story of growing seeds, and the story of the mustard seed are all there. So below is a somewhat poetic expression of my thoughts on the subject.

The kingdom of God is like a seed.

It began with One Man -
not impressive to behold
but powerful.

He is the fullness of the kingdom of God
and He brought that kingdom to earth -
the kingdom of God is here and now
And he lived it out
lived out zoe
demonstrated life as God intended it to be 
His will on earth as it is in heaven.

He sowed himself among us
made his dwelling among us
planted and rooted himself among us
God with us
Emmanuel.

And then...

He spoke truth
He promised peace
He brought healing
He offered hope
He lavished love.

He broke open his life and poured it out
so others could live -
really live.

And what began as an unassuming seed pod
grows.

Twelve men listened and responded -
they followed and obeyed
they learned and tried to live the way He did.

He said, "Watch and listen -
This is how we grow,
This is how we live."

The Living Water flows
The Light shines and dispels the darkness
and the seed becomes sprouting leaves.

Three-hundred more
and then five-thousand
from many tribes and tongues
were added to the kingdom
through the Spirit and Truth.

The word spreads
the gospel enriches
and the sprouts become branches -
men and women shared the stories
to study and remember
and pattern their lives after the Seed.

And branches grow
they thicken
they strengthen
they stretch farther and wider
the kingdom expands to the ends of the earth.

People are amazed that
the more they study
and live the life of the Seed,
the more the seed becomes a tree -
taller and broader
mightier and fuller
more beautiful
more bounteous
more alive than they ever imagined.

But the truth is
the tree is not more than the Seed -
it is the Seed
the fulfillment and fullness of all the seed contains and holds.

It is the outward image and product
of the planted and rooted and very much alive seed -
the Church is the picture and body of Christ
living life to the fullest
living life as He intended it
the kingdom of God on earth
here and now
a tree
a seed.

~ C.L. Chandler