Buying seeds…

Some of you have read my story about the “mill pond garden”. I was out of control, to say the least. My own home, a dog, a relationship and life. And it was spring. It was time to put in a garden. And I needed seeds. Well, part of the good news was that my family owned a store. And in that store was a large rack of seeds. Charles Hart Seeds. And so the garden began its first look at life.

Now, I will tell you there is something amazing about seed catalogs and seed packages. They have awesome pictures. And I was hooked. 3-5 different kinds of radishes (Including black radishes.), multiple kinds of peas, carrots, cucumbers, squash and tons of herbs and various flowers to go around the edge. And I began to go to town.

I was out there making rows, building mounds, gently covering and adding water. All to make ready for the seeds. It was not long before nothing was something!

I would like to tell you it ended there but it didn’t. I went down to the local Agway and bought lots of peas, beans and corn. And the garden got bigger. I soon went from a postage stamp to a garden the size of a business document!

When I was a child my parents often had seeds saved in baby jars, to use the following years. Rarely did they go the store for much seed. Heirloom seeds were what people did. Convenience has got in the way. My friend I often speak about with the little farm had jars and jars of seeds saved from the previous year. At the end of the growing season I would be going through dead fruit and vegetables removing the seeds.

Life is so much like a garden. But just because you planned, staked it, there is nothing until the seed is in the ground. The requirement is that one(seed or individual.) must be planted or in an environment of moisture, light and nutrients.

God said in the Bible some things that are very profound about seeds. Seeds represent concepts that apply both to the natural realm and the spiritual realm simultaneously. Planting seeds and getting harvests are a part of the essential design of God’s creation as well as being an essential part of God’s hidden nature and character. (That is being revealed daily!) the Bible speaks over 250 times about seeds.

Here is what Wikipedia says.
A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering called the seed coat, usually with some stored food. It is a characteristic of spermatophytes (gymnosperm and angiosperm plants) and the product of the ripened ovule which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant. The formation of the seed completes the process of reproduction in seed plants (started with the development of flowers and pollination), with the embryo developed from the zygote and the seed coat from the integuments of the ovule.

Seeds have been an important development in the reproduction and spread of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants, relative to more primitive plants such as ferns, mosses and liverworts, which do not have seeds and use other means to propagate themselves. This can be seen by the success of seed plants (both gymnosperms and angiosperms) in dominating biological niches on land, from forests to grasslands both in hot and cold climates.

The word “seed” implies potential, for within every seed is life. Everything necessary for an oak tree to grow is held within the acorn. Have you ever seen a redwood? Redwood trees grow to an incredible height and live for centuries. Yet their seeds, are very small seeds. Yet within that seed is the initial nourishment for the tree and a complete “outline” that determines the shape, structure and color of those magnificent trees. A seed has within the potential necessary for the development of a plant for mankind to enjoy and utilize. God deliberately uses the illustration of a seed to teach us that within every believer is the potential to grow and develop and to maximize our potential. A seed then implies potential, productivity and pleasurable results. Just as the seeds you saved from the previous year’s squash or watermelon will produce squash or watermelon, depending on the seed, so are you called to produce.

Hmmm. There is a lot in there! In Genesis 1:11 God says “Let the earth bring forth grass yielding seed”. But Paul calls us a garden so our “seed” comes forth as the body of Christ. How important is all this to the believer? Incredibly important! What is the value of a seed? God calls you His seed. Where are you planted? Where are you nourished?

Unlike natural seeds, God’s seed is permanent in a believer. (1 John 3:9) And the amazing thing is you did not have to buy the seed of God. You simply received it by grace. You carry the DNA and the potential of the Lord Jesus Christ.

There are many seeds of greatness, but they all revolve around one great requirement: faith!

• Self-esteem requires faith.
• Lordship requires faith.
• Desire requires faith.
• Decision requires faith.

Abraham believed “God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did… He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God” (Romans 4:17,20). Abraham brings great value to the New Covenant believer. Because “the promise [is] sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all” (Romans 4:16). “Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law… that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus… And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise” (Galatians 3:14,15,29)

The seed to succeed in life is powerful, productive, and present in you!