Risk-Free Investing (Part 2)

I remember the first seeds Sue planted after we were married. They were Impatiens and came in a wedding card someone had given us. We planted them in an egg carton and put it in the kitchen window where they’d get proper warmth and light. We watered them according to the package instructions and waited for that first sign of green. A week went by and another and another … and after about a month, I thought, “Maybe I misread the package. Maybe they’re called Impatience.” Those seeds never did sprout.

Years later, Sue planted Impatiens again. The sower was the same, potting soil again, similar container…. but that spring she had hundreds of plants. Where was the difference? In the seed. Some seed is sterile, and some seed contains the miraculous ability to produce life. We fertilize and hydrate and cultivate and aerate and stand on our head with a magnifying glass day and night, but if there is no life in the seed, our efforts are in vain.

Last week we learned from Jesus that no one who invests in the Kingdom of God loses. In fact, you receive back all you put in with interest. The only person who loses is the one who never invests. In His next parable, Jesus taught a humbling but encouraging lesson about Kingdom investing. You’re not responsible for the results … only the investment.

Jesus also said, “This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. All by itself the soil produces grain–first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come.” Mark 4:26-29

I believe the Apostle Paul had this teaching in mind when he wrote, I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. (l Corinthians 3:6-7)

Often in Jesus’ teaching, “seed” equals the Word of God. This is certainly what Paul was referring to. The Gospel, like fertile seed, has intrinsic power for life. When the Word is sown into people’s lives, life and growth will result according to God’s will. God has given us the privilege of sharing the Kingdom message, but He has not burdened us with the responsibility of making it grow. That’s His job! The only way we can fail is by failing to scatter the seed … the Good News about Jesus Christ. Once again, our every investment for the Kingdom is guaranteed!

 
 

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