Jaw-dropping Jewels about Jesus
Rarely does Jesus, God the Son, do exactly what we expect of Him. It seems odd that He so frequently surprises us, given that He never changes. Hebrews 13:8 makes this absolute statement: “Jesus the same yesterday, and today, and forever.” Still, though He is blessedly consistent in His goodness, Jesus does unforeseen things. Even when He does what is expected, He does not always do it in the way that we anticipate. Let us join with Jesus on a jaw-dropping journey. (I will be using this opening paragraph for each of the brief messages in this series. The following material will change daily.)
As we began to consider yesterday, a small seed can lead to a huge harvest: “And He said, ‘So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground; and should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how. For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear. But when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come’” (Mark 4:26-29). As we learned earlier from the Parable of the Soils or Souls (Mark 4:1-20), there are limitations placed upon what we can accomplish as God’s farmers. This planter is not lazy because he waits months for the growth of the crops and only then begins “the harvest.” Rather, he realizes that once the seed is planted there is nothing that he can do for a period of time. Of course, God has no limitations: “For with God nothing shall be impossible” (Luke 1:37). Thus, it is entirely God’s work in bringing about growth in “the kingdom of God.” As Paul wrote in I Corinthians 3:6, “I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.” Because it is our Savior God Who is responsible for the growing, this growth is assured. It is truly edifying to know that He takes the little seed and turns it into a large harvest. Our responsibility is to scatter the seed of God’s Word.