“And He said, “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground, and should sleep by night and rise by day, and the seed should sprout and grow, he himself does not know how. For the earth yields crops by itself: first the blade, then the head, after that the full grain in the head. But when the grain ripens, immediately he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come”” (Mk 4:26-29).
The text above is an account of a parable which Jesus gave His disciples, that portrays the beauty of surrendering to God. The point at issue here is the kingdom of God—His rule on earth—and not the kingdom of man. This parable depicts how the kingdom of God works. If we desire to see God’s rule in the affairs of men, then we need to meet His conditions. The ultimate goal of God’s redemptive programme for the earth is that the kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ (Rev 11:15).
Of great importance is the fact that the parable above involves a man as a central actor. For God’s will—which is good and pleasing and perfect—to be done on earth as it is in heaven, mankind has to be involved. It is man that must scatter the seed on the ground. This why God’s word can only work for you if you plant it in your own heart. The importance of your effort to sow the seed of God’s word into your heart cannot be overemphasised. Just as no one can create a natural seed, so also can no one produce God’s word. You can only receive God’s word from Him, as you hear Him speak to you. However, once you have received the word of God, you are then responsible for what you do with it.
As important as the place of man is, according to the parable above, if he overreaches himself, his efforts become not only unproductive, but also counterproductive. For this reason the man sleeps by night. In your pursuit of the kingdom of God, there is a part you should necessarily play, and a limit beyond which you should never attempt to go. For instance, the Bible says, “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase” (1Cor 3:6). Paul knew what was required of him and Apollos: to plant the seed and water it. Therefore, he and Apollos did not attempt to give the increase which was exclusively God’s part to play. If you attempt to play your part and God’s part, that effort will keep you up both by night and by day—something God calls pride. It is this kind of unnecessary effort that leads to stress. So, you should learn to stretch but not to stress.
“…and the seed should sprout and grow, he himself does not know how” (Mk 4:27). The power of the seed is inherent. Like the seed, no word from God is void of power for its own fulfilment (Lk 1:37 AMP). Every word of God has intrinsic power to fulfill itself. This is why God says, “So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it” (Isa 55:11). God’s word has the inherent capacity to accomplish His pleasure. That was why, “He sent His word and healed them, And delivered them from their destructions” (Ps 107:20). Note that, “…he [the man in the parable] himself does not know how.” We practically walk into Satan’s trap, whenever we insist on knowing how God’s word for our lives will be accomplished. The man does not know how and couldn’t careless. His concern is that the seed remain in the ground. How it sprouts and grows does not bother him. That is the attitude God wants you to have. As long as the earth into which the seed of God’s word has been planted is good ground, it will yield crops by itself.
However, the progression is noteworthy: “first the blade, then the head, after that the full grain in the head” (Mk 4:28). This is because when you sow the seed of God’s word in your heart, you will need to be patient for it to go through the required processes of growth (Rom 6:12). For sometime after we have planted the seed, there will be no apparent sign of a change. This, however, does not indicate that nothing is happening underground, but rather that the preliminary activities taking place are below the level of our consciousness awareness. However, as we wait patiently, the growth of the plant becomes obvious. This is why it is futile for you to struggle to make a word from God come to pass before it is ready.
Thankfully, “…when the grain ripens, immediately he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come”” (Mk 4:26-29). Note that the scriptural text above says, “WHEN the grain ripens” indicating certainty, not probability. There is certainly a “due season” when the grain ripens for harvest, for God is not a man that He should lie (Num 23:19). Then, like the man in this parable, you will put in the sickle and, to your great joy and pleasure, reap a harvest. Shalom.
