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"And He [Jesus] said, 'The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground. He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how. The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.' And He said, 'With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use for it? It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when sown on the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth, yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and puts out large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.' With many such parables He spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it. He did not speak to them without a parable, but privately to His own disciples He explained everything." (Mark 4:26-34 ESV)
It's funny how little it takes to bring someone to Christ. Two children whispering stories after they're supposed to be in bed. A child's voice, chanting: "Pick it up, read it." The gift of a Bible, never mentioned again.
Many of us can look back on tiny things like this that God used to bring us to trust in Jesus. At the time they happened, we could not have foretold what God would do with such small things. But looking back, we see God at work, drawing us to Jesus—bringing us home.
This seems to be the way God works. He starts with something tiny, something no one would bother with—a baby, born to a family away from home, sleeping in a manger. A teacher and healer walking the endless roads of Galilee and Judea. A Man betrayed by His friends and handed over to His enemies, dying a slow, painful death on a cross.
And from this, what? Jesus, risen to life again, and offering that new life to everyone who will believe in Him. A gathering of ordinary Christians in an upper room in Jerusalem—soon to add more than 3,000 people when the Holy Spirit comes at Pentecost. Young churches starting to grow across Asia and Africa. Over a billion believers around the world today who love and trust in Jesus.
You may have people in your life that you grieve for—a child, a spouse or parent, a friend who has been many years away from Jesus and shows no signs of coming back. These people once heard the Gospel—maybe were baptized—but have turned their backs, maybe for very good reasons, humanly speaking. But you grieve for them. You pray for them. Will they ever return?
God knows. But Jesus' story of the seed gives us good hope in situations like these. And so we pray for the ones we love, asking God to make the good seed grow and come to fruit in faith—whether we ourselves live to see it or not.
We Pray: Lord, please make the seed of Your Gospel grow in the hearts of those who need You. Amen.
This Daily Devotion was written by Dr. Kari Vo.
Originally published in The Lutheran Hour on June 13, 2024
Used by permission from International Lutheran Laymen’s League, all rights
Reflection Questions:
1. What seeds did God plant in your life to bring you to faith, and when?
2. Based on Jesus' stories, is it possible for any government to stomp out Christianity entirely?
3. Pray for someone you love who does not yet trust in Jesus.
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