Good morning, dear friends! I welcome you to our „Daily Word for Spiritual Edification”. I am happy for the opportunity share to God’s Word with you once again.
For some time now we have been talking about seed and the potential that lies in it. We looked at two of Jesus’ parables recorded in the 4th chapter of the Gospel of Mark: about the sower and the growing seed.
Today I would like us to discuss the third parable of this series – the parable of mustard seed.
«Then He said, “To what shall we liken the kingdom of God? Or with what parable shall we picture it? It is like a mustard seed which, when it is sown on the ground, is smaller than all the seeds on earth; but when it is sown, it grows up and becomes greater than all herbs, and shoots out large branches, so that the birds of the air may nest under its shade» (Мark,4:30-32).
Through this parable Jesus reveals to us the potential of a small mustard seed, which is “smaller than all the seeds on earth”. Not the size of the seed determines its influence or greatness. If you won’t look at the size of your seed but simply sow it, this seed will sprout and become „greater than all herbs”.
There is a great potential hidden in each seed. We must learn to release the potential of all those seeds that God has given us. There is a potential for greatness inside every seed, and we must learn to release it.
One of the ways to do that is by sowing. God’s principle says: what we sow is what we reap. But it is also important to note that we reap a lot more than we sow. Without sowing we don’t reap at all. If you want to become great and bring fruit in the kingdom of God, if you desire for your life to have godly influence over other people, then you have to sow your life into others. There are no short cuts to greatness and true influence. It would be foolish to expect greatness, multiplication and fruitfulness without sowing. That would be deception!
Jesus said that the person who wants to be great needs to become a servant.
«Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant. And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave to all. For even the Son of Man did not come to served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many» (Мark, 10:43-45).
Jesus lived according to this principle, — He gave His life a ransom for many; He sowed Himself for the sake of others, and because of it He became great. Jesus did not live for Himself, but for others. He sowed His life, so that others could be saved. Everything Jesus had was given for the sake of others, for their salvation.
Dear friends, if we want to fruitful, great and effective, we need to imitate Jesus. Do not despise tiny seed that you have today.
«Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain» (John, 12:24).
«To die» — means to sow yourself, to die to yourself, your interests and selfish desires; it means to sacrifice your life, your time, gifts and resources in order to help people and to lift them up. By doing so, we can bear much more fruit. This is the lifestyle God has called us to live. We carry seed within ourselves and we have to release that seed by sowing it. It is important not to let our seed rot. We must let it grow to the full measure.
May God help us live the life that glorifies God and positively affects the people around us.
Peace of God be with you!
Pastor Rufus Ajiboye
