Dirt isn't Always Just Dirt
The more you read about the kingdom as Jesus describes it, the more you realize, you may have had it wrong.
The kingdom of God is not "in your face."
The kingdom of God does not "kick but."
The kingdom of God does not "shove it's way into your reality."
Here's how Jesus describes the kingdom of God:
Mark 4:26–29 (ESV) And he said, “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground. 27 He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how. 28 The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear.
A man scatters seed and it grows without human agency. It doesn't burst forth ferociously, it sprouts. It doesn't overwhelm society, it grows. And we don't truly know how it happens! It's mysterious. The earth is involved, the process is slow and gradual and most of it is UNSEEN.
Unseen.
This is the nature of God's movement. Something was happening long before you saw the sprouting. I'm starting to see some good news here....
Jesus tells this parable right after the parable of the soils. In that parable, the condition of the soil made all the difference. But in this parable, the seed and earth work without human effort to produce something over time. The disciples are probably not getting this yet, but it's clearer to us. God is involved beneath the process. He's doing something we cannot see and cannot control. God is working where we only see dirt!
John Piper relates this passage to the world's stage of God's mission:
Do you see only dirt right now? Do you get discouraged with where God has you in your life? Do you think you're simply drying up in the sunlight? Are you sick of seeing little to no movement in your life? There's good news.
God is operating below the surface. He works mysteriously and silently for years on the seed sown in your heart. Perhaps you need to hear this about that rebellious person in your life that has you flustered and frustrated. Perhaps you need to hear this for your unsaved friend or family member. Perhaps you need this news for you.
God's word is the seed and it never returns void (Isaiah 55:10-11). Take heart. What goes in the ground is bound to come forth from it, something possibly unimpressive at first. But when the time is right you will see more than you ever thought possible.
God is working where we see emptiness.
God is moving even apart from us.
God will not be kept down.
PRAYER:
Father, I want to be a part of what you are doing in the world. I get frustrated, like most that I'm not where I want to be. Help me to remember, you are always working, even when I'm sleeping. And help me to rest in the fact that dirt doesn't always mean dirt when You are involved.
___________________
Piper, J. (2005). Taste and see: Savoring the Supremacy of God in All of Life (112–113). Sisters, OR: Multnomah Publishers.
The kingdom of God is not "in your face."
The kingdom of God does not "kick but."
The kingdom of God does not "shove it's way into your reality."
Here's how Jesus describes the kingdom of God:
Mark 4:26–29 (ESV) And he said, “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground. 27 He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how. 28 The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear.
A man scatters seed and it grows without human agency. It doesn't burst forth ferociously, it sprouts. It doesn't overwhelm society, it grows. And we don't truly know how it happens! It's mysterious. The earth is involved, the process is slow and gradual and most of it is UNSEEN.
Unseen.
This is the nature of God's movement. Something was happening long before you saw the sprouting. I'm starting to see some good news here....
Jesus tells this parable right after the parable of the soils. In that parable, the condition of the soil made all the difference. But in this parable, the seed and earth work without human effort to produce something over time. The disciples are probably not getting this yet, but it's clearer to us. God is involved beneath the process. He's doing something we cannot see and cannot control. God is working where we only see dirt!
John Piper relates this passage to the world's stage of God's mission:
If China was closed for forty years to Western missionaries, it’s not because Jesus slipped and fell into the tomb. He stepped in. And when it was sealed over, he saved fifty million Chinese from inside—without Western missionaries. And when it was time, he pushed the stone away so we could see what he had done. 1
Do you see only dirt right now? Do you get discouraged with where God has you in your life? Do you think you're simply drying up in the sunlight? Are you sick of seeing little to no movement in your life? There's good news.
God is operating below the surface. He works mysteriously and silently for years on the seed sown in your heart. Perhaps you need to hear this about that rebellious person in your life that has you flustered and frustrated. Perhaps you need to hear this for your unsaved friend or family member. Perhaps you need this news for you.
God's word is the seed and it never returns void (Isaiah 55:10-11). Take heart. What goes in the ground is bound to come forth from it, something possibly unimpressive at first. But when the time is right you will see more than you ever thought possible.
God is working where we see emptiness.
God is moving even apart from us.
God will not be kept down.
PRAYER:
Father, I want to be a part of what you are doing in the world. I get frustrated, like most that I'm not where I want to be. Help me to remember, you are always working, even when I'm sleeping. And help me to rest in the fact that dirt doesn't always mean dirt when You are involved.
___________________
Piper, J. (2005). Taste and see: Savoring the Supremacy of God in All of Life (112–113). Sisters, OR: Multnomah Publishers.
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