All by Itself

By Richard

Jesus tells a parable about God’s kingdom. He says that the kingdom of God is like, “Seed thrown on a field by a man who then goes to bed and forgets about it. The seed sprouts and grows – he has no idea how it happens. The earth does it all without his help; first a green stem of grass, then a bud, the ripened grain. When the grain is fully formed, he reaps – harvest time!” (Mark 4: 26-29, the Message).

I don’t know about you but this parable reminded me of a couple of important things. The kingdom of God advances almost imperceptibly, but grow it does from seed through to harvest. We must not get discouraged in our "instant" world by the slowness of growth.

The second, and probably most important thing, is the reminder of just how much of the work is God’s. When I lie down to sleep and forget about all the hard work that I am putting into establishing Mountainview, God is still at work, driving the humble kingdom seeds that I have sown on towards an eventual harvest.

My prayer is that God might take the seeds we have sown at Mountainview, water them, germinate them and grow them towards an eventual harvest, and that we might end up reminded it is God’s work – so that he gets the credit.