IS IT PEPPER?

​Is it pepper? No, it is seeds.  Seeds range in size from fine dust to coconut.
Some seeds germinate quickly within a few days, while others can lie dormant for years during drought. When the rain comes, they pop up and in no time produce a flower, the desert becomes a veritable Eden, and the next generation plant begins again.
Wheat is no longer Wheat. Scientists have experimented until they have produced drought-resistant species—types of grain that is high in protein. Grain especially created for bread-making—Wheat ain't just Wheat.
In ancient times seed was sewn by hand from a bag hung around the sower's neck.  It was a hit and miss process. In that era, the farmer would have had a small plot of land. Today, the farmer owns thousands of acres, gigantic machinery and sophisticated seed. I should think those farmers of old would think they had died and gone to heaven to witness today's farming practices.
God has a message too good to be true. His only son Jesus came to tell the world the news, and guess how he explained the message?  By talking about sowing seed. We can read the story in Matthew 13; 1 – 23.
In the Biblical illustration, the seed was hand sown and fell where it would. Some seed fell on the hard untilled ground, and the birds ate it; others fell on stony ground with no depth of soil. The seed sprouted, but without water and too hot a sun, it soon died. Some hands full fell among weeds and were choked and grew spindly.
However, a fair amount of seed fell on the good ground where the depth of good soil, tillage and proper moisture and sunlight produced a crop, and the farmer eked out a living.
God chose a mere seed to get his point across. When we hear for the first time about Jesus and his crucifixion, it means nothing to us. Our hearts are hard and stony. In response to God’s message of love and forgiveness we say, ‘Who is God that I should listen to such hokus pokus.’
Some people do listen and are interested. They feel the message of forgiveness of sins and eternity could be for them, and they make a commitment to Jesus. Peer pressure and the fear of missing out on something fun cause them to drift away.
The party animals say,' Nah, being a Christian isn't for me.  Wowsers, I want to have a good time, experience the latest drugs, and indulge in as much sex as I can.'
The fourth group of people say, 'Hang on, there is something in the message. ‘I'm struggling with a black dog called depression; I want to beat this addiction.  Sex has left me old and tired and unsatisfied.' This group commits to Jesus. They invite him into their heart, they discover that they have become a new person, that their old life has no appeal any longer. Life is fresh and new—no amount of peer pressure will cause them to deviate from their commitment.
The committed people find joy and peace they never knew before.  God demonstrates his love for them, he provides an abundant life for them, and they are consolidated in their new life.
On the one hand, life is harder for them because their friends shun them. On the other hand, life is easier because they have the power of God in their lives. They have found a person who loves them regardless, never leaves them or deserts them.
They can't stop rejoicing at what they have found, nor talking about God. Nothing is going to make them return to their old life.
So you see, the human heart is like a seed; when God's message of his great unconditional love is planted in the heart and finds depth and grows, there is a life-changing harvest.
 
 
 

---