He also said, "The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground, and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow, he does not know how."
--Mark 4:26-27
The first Monday in the second half of the church year is upon us. What kind of day will it be? Or what sort of day was it? More likely than not, some kind of work will be/was involved.
According to Jesus, the "work" of the kingdom of God involves scattering seed. There is no mention of "soil testing" or "environmental impact" studies prior to taking up the task. The sleep and rise night and day bit suggests that the work continues unabated. In addition, this notion of scattering the seed seems to indicate a certain recklessness. Should not care be exercised so that no seeds are wasted? Would it not be wise to till up the ground and furrow a row or two? This works seems to require maximum efficiency to turn a profit, no?
None of these considerations are at play. The sower is too busy scattering the seed. The urgency of the task surpasses consideration of methods we might think more appropriate. And so be it. Whether we recognize it or not, there is an urgency to the kingdom of God, and those kingdom seeds have been flying around ever since Jesus told the story.
Some of them have hit home in our lives. Faith in God grows and love toward neighbor blooms. We can't explain how it happens. We're just glad to be a part of work that lasts everlastingly!
PD
No comments:
Post a Comment