FROM SEED TO TREE
“There is none that understandeth,
there is none that seeketh after God”
ROMANS 3:11
These words describe the human condition. There are none with understanding or desire to seek after God. NONE. Whether it is Jew or Gentile, rich or poor, religious or non-religious, this is man’s standing before God. God’s issue with men is not because they do not understand, nor seek HIM, HIS issue is…
“…because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness”
II THESSALONIANS 2:10
To individually have a LOVE (agape’) for truth one must first receive it. Living truth is a two-edged sword that cuts even to the place of “the thoughts and intents of our hearts.” Since this love of truth is freely offered and given on the basis of Faith, we must conclude that we in and of ourselves have nothing to offer God. He has concluded ALL in unbelief! Where is boasting; it is negated. In terms of understanding or seeking God anything within us that lends itself to the pursuit of these things is completely apart from our innate abilities or personal value. God is NO respecter of persons (Jew or Gentile, slave or free, rich or poor….); HE gives freely to all who ask.
Now we are brought into the sphere of our awesome RESPONSIBILITY. Since this wondrous gift has been (past tense) given to us on the basis of Grace we now must face the responsibility of WHAT WE HAVE DONE AND HOW WE HAVE HANDLED THIS priceless gift!
“A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return. And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come…And it came to pass, that when he was returned, having received the kingdom, then he commanded these servants to be called unto him, to whom he had given the money, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading…”
Luke 19:12 – 27
We are free from any responsibility to work up a “love for truth” or a desire to seek HIM from our own carnal resources! We are, however, completely responsible for the care and diligence that we exert toward those things which HE HAS GIVEN. Anything within my life that desires HIS WAY, HIS TRUTH and HIS LIFE is a result of HIS GRACIOUS GIFT and if I do not yield myself to that call in my life I am without excuse! Every little impression that I feel from my heart toward HIM is HIS CALL to me to see more of HIM, to be transformed BY the seeing of HIM, and to sense a deeper hold on my life than I knew before. This is the RESPONSE by the faith of the Son of God within each heart. Failure to respond to HIS LOVING CALL will result in a life that is cold, indifferent and lukewarm in its pursuit of God. We seek HIM to the degree that we LOVE HIM. Love is ever deepened by relationship. If I were to not talk with my wife or not share things with her our relationship would never deepen and the relevance of her in my life would be minimized. So is it with God. The full value of the gift is realized by my diligence to the development and enlargement of it. In this parable everyone was entrusted with the exact same gift. The fruitfulness of each man was based upon their response to what was given.
IT IS AN IMMUTABLE TRUTH
THAT WE SHALL ALL GIVE AN ACCOUNT
FOR THE PRICELESS GIFT
THAT HAS BEEN PLACED
IN OUR TRUST
Jesus said that the Kingdom of God is like…
“The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field: Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof”
MATTHEW 13:31 – 32
This love for truth that was sown into our hearts is to grow from SEED TO TREE. It is to grow from something that is small and insignificant to something that is large and strong in which others may come and find rest upon the branches of its life within us. From SEED to TREE is a description of the KINGDOM OF GOD! Men are always looking for some great event, some “moment” in time when the heavens will suddenly open and everything is changed. But without the quiet, consistent and determined effort on our part to GROW in the daily affairs of life we will not be ready in that day to give an account of how we lived our life.
SEED TO TREE
SEED TO TREE
CHILD TO MAN
IS THE PURPOSE OF GOD
IN HIS GRACIOUS PLAN
SEED TO TREE
STRENGTH TO STRENGTH
GLORY TO GLORY
AND FAITH TO FAITH
A LIFE EVER PROGRESSING
NEW GLORIES TO SEE
MAY YOUR LIFE EVER DRAW ME
TO NEW PLACES IN THEE
Ω
“Things great have small beginnings. Every downpour is just a raindrop;
every fire is just a spark; every harvest is just a seed;
every journey is just a step because without that step there will be no journey; without that raindrop there can be no shower;
without that seed there can be no harvest.”
William Wilberforce
Brian Troxel
