what "Seed" Am I?

What Kind of Seed are you?

“And some seed fell on good soil,

And when it grew,

 It produced fruit a hundredfold.”

~ Luke 8: 8

Are you the seed that fell on the Path?

Those on the path are the ones who have heard, but the Devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts that they may not believe and be saved!

Are you the seed on rocky ground?

They are the ones, who, when they hear, received the word with joy, but they have no root; they believe only for a time and fall away in time of temptation!

Are you the seed that fell among thorns?

They are the ones who have heard, but as they go along, they are choked by the anxieties and riches and pleasures of life, and they fail to produce mature fruit!

Are you the seed that fell on rich soil?

They are the ones who, when they have heard the word, embrace it with a generous and good heart, and bear fruit through perseverance!

 Even if you are not a farmer by profession, at least observing how the farmer plants his seed will give you a physical idea of the analogy that our Lord Jesus Christ is exemplifying for us in his Parable of the Sower as narrated in the Gospel according to Saint Luke.

The farmer treasure his seeds tremendously and cherished the idea of high yield from ever single seed and therefore does not intentionally exposes them to harm, because doing so will be risking his dream of a bountiful harvest. It therefore suffice that, the farmer will not subject his seeds to circumstances that will make them unfruitful and the same scenario applies to mankind and God with the exception that unlike the farmer who cannot do more than care for his seeds by way of protecting and nourishing them, the almighty God actually intervened by allowing Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son to died for us his “Seeds” in order that we can bear fruit and bear them more abundantly- in hundredfold!

The Realities of Life

Without an iota of doubt, life can be tough, discouraging and frustrating at times, and it can equally be easy going, encouraging and enjoyable too. However irrespective of what angles of experiences that might predominate our lives, the obvious realities are that we are subjected and variously too, to the influences and circumstances that challenges our faith in God and in the goodness of humanity.

The ultimate desire of God is for all his children to enjoy his creation and that includes but not limited to nature, the use of our talents in pursuit of happiness and to support our loved ones and make the world a better place to live in. Moreover this desire of God goes beyond just our life here on earth, as a matter of fact, his plans for us includes eternal life in the Kingdom of Heaven.

As a seed therefore, everyone of us can rest assure that God has the best plans for our future as he prophesied through the prophet Jeremiah saying,

“I alone know the plans I have for you,

Plans to bring prosperity and not disaster,

Plans to bring about the future you hope for.”

This plan of God is not limited to any group or type of people, but offered to all his children, whom he has created through Adam and Eve, and we are the contemporary custodian of these promises as long as we are ready to walk with him in faith, hope and love.

The Influence of Evil

Evil is the opposite of good and whenever we fail to do good, most regrettably we not only promote evil but in reality sow the seed of discord, disaffection and even discrimination within our hearts, and in so doing, act contrary to the plans of God in our lives!

If we are hoping for a better future in which we visualize a peaceful, loving and prosperous environment for our loved ones and ourselves, we must be ready to do well for our neighbors, especially because of the love of the almighty God and the resident goodness that humanity possesses because of her likeness to God.

The Devil is the architect of evil and is ever ready to distract us from the realities of our life in God, particularly when we are experiencing tough times that can be very exigent, with the potential of making us to lose our patience in God’s plans and seek the easy way out. Many examples abound where man have chosen evil over good and unfortunately the results are always never beneficial to man, and not even to the perpetrators at the long run and this indeed is not the way our God designed our lives to be!

Right from creation and the rejection by Adam and Evil to obey God in the Garden of Eden up to our contemporary societies in which on several occasions we have continued to perpetuate the act of evil such as hatred for God and godliness, and disregards for the goodness in mankind, the unnecessary jealousy that at times fuel our anger instead of maintaining our calmness, the lack of faith in God and in man’s inherent desires to please God, then imagine the genesis of the wanton losses of lives and properties due to wars which arises from the quest for political or apolitical powers and influences, the denigration of humanity by man and the treatment of some children of God as less of a human being by others in spite of the fact that we all have the same Homo sapiens features and created as equals before God,  clearly manifest how dangerous the influence of evil over good can be in our lives.

 In the vicinity of evil, what abound are hate, despair, greed, immorality, sin, doubts, lack of self-control, foolish pride, impatience, anxieties, fear,  war, unhappiness, sadness and ultimately death. We are and can never be satisfied by anything at all because by nature man was created to be at peace with his God and until we find that peace which is in God, our soul remain as restless as the tides of the rough ocean.

The Goodness in Man

Man was created after the image and likeness of his creator, the almighty God!

By image, we can related to Jesus Christ, who is the Son of the living God, the “Emmanuel” who make his dwelling among us in order to rectify the damage done by Adam and Eve and restore humanity on the path to eternal life in the Kingdom of heaven. Our likeness to God is manifested in the goodness that is resident in every mankind. Whenever we do well, the likeness of God becomes a reality and beholds his mercy, compassion and love dwells among us again and gives mankind the necessity and zeal to thrive toward the higher goal of one day being with God in his Kingdom of glory and everlasting life.

Our lives are always positively influenced whenever we put God first and act through love and compassion as opposed to simply acting based on egocentric and inconsiderate manner that are self-limiting and unhealthy for the body and equally the soul.

In order to be the Seed that fell on good and rich soil, we must become the emblem and imitator of Jesus Christ and therefore be transformed into the fruits of the Holy Spirit which produces love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, humility and self-control! These qualities will help us to live in God, for God and with God and consequently help produce the abundance of grace, compassion and mercy that are so much needed in our world saturated with man made ugliness, coldness and apathy and lack of forgiveness.

God’s Plans for Mankind

By simple teachings of the Mystical Body of Christ, or the Church we are made aware that unlike other animals, man was created with a SOUL! This soul is our spiritual dimension and the pathway to eternity and clearly defined us as a creation after God’s own heart, beloved, cared for and pampered with inexpressible compassion, mercy and love that became evident through the crucifixion and death of our Lord Jesus Christ.

If we allow God to reside in us, and in spite of what kind of “ground” or “soil” we may find ourselves today, through the merit of Jesus Christ, we have the blessed assurance of being planted in the “good soil” that can yield the fruits of the Spirit by the grace of God. This soul or spiritual part of mankind help our physical bodies with three unique features which enable us bear the mature fruits of the Spirit, and these are faith, hope and love!

Faith in God’s steadfastness and infinite love allows us to be patient, endure and persevere at all times. No matter our circumstances, whether good or not so good, whenever we put our trust in God through our faith in him, we are provided with the true comforter, the Holy Spirit, which will come and intercede for us through our prayers and actions and consequently help us through our difficulties ultimately leading to us being able to bring glory to the name of God!

Hope in God’s faithfulness ensures that in our belief, however or whatever states we may find ourselves today, we are guaranteed that the almighty knows exactly what we are in most need of and shall provide it in accordance to his will and glory. When Jeremiah prophesied about God’s revelation about his future plans for humanity, his faith was anchored in both God’s faithfulness and enduring steadfastness. Have you ever encounter a situation that our God made a promise and later failed? Absolutely none; from the beginning of creation to this day, our God has displayed over and again that he is real and on time and keep to his promises no matter what!

Love is the ultimate and final act that God used to reveal his infinite mercy and compassion for mankind. When the almighty God allowed his Only Begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ to die for mankind, he opens the door of heavens to everyone and put all of us on the path to eternal glory in his Kingdom of Heaven. And as if that was not enough, the same God raised Jesus Christ from the dead to prove beyond reasonable doubt that he has power over life and death.

How to Actualize God’s Plan for Mankind

Is this really the plan of God for mankind some may be tempted to ask! If God has all these beautiful plans of prosperity, peace and goodness, how come mankind is experiencing so much hate, hurt and so much detrimental situations? Why did God allow the uncountable killings, wars, infighting among families and friends, and what about the broken marriages, the unfulfilled dreams of a better tomorrow?  While there may be no single answer to all these challenges that we face in life, nevertheless, Jesus Christ did make it clear that these inimical scenarios were caused by the Devil! And the Devil can only act through us whenever we allow hatred and evil to overcome us, instead of turning to God.

Rather than blaming God for the evil we see around us, today our God is inviting us to come and partake at his table of the Body and Blood of his Son our Lord Jesus Christ. The almighty wants every of his child to have the best life here on earth and ultimately in the eternal life to come, however we must be willing to accept his invitation and let him plant us on the good soil in Christ.

Today, I pray and chose to walk with God, so that too may become like the “Seed” that fell on the good and rich soil and therefore bears the fruits of prosperity and glory that shall emanate from my faith, hope and love of God and which will help me to endure and persevere through the ups and downs of life, focusing at all times on the Cross of Jesus Christ and learning to be humble and obedient, patient and hopeful and above all offering myself in the same way that the Mother of God, the Blessed Virgin Mary did when she responded to the angel Gabriel by saying,

“Behold I am the handmaid of the Lord,

Let it be done to me according to your words.”

Jesus Christ, I too proclaim as the Blessed Virgin Mary, your mother did by crying out from the depth of my heart “Let it be done to me according to your words.”  Amen

Prayer

Dear heavenly Father,

I thank you for today’s gifts of life and love and a brand new day!

Help me to overcome fear with faith, despair with hope and hate with love, and give me your peace and prosperity and make me an instrument of your grace to all those I shall encounter with today.

Thank you O Lord, my God for your divine providence, mercy and compassion, as I seek your glory in my life today and until when you will call me from this world.

Through Jesus Christ, your son I have prayed. Amen.

Ref: Luke 8, I Corinthians 13, Jeremiah 29, Luke 1, Galatians 5

Podeh2016