Did you know that seeds actually grow?

This spring we had a chance to plant corn seeds with a farmer in our community. While we were planting the seeds he seemed to give great attention to the depth of the seed in the soil, the amount of fertilizer being used, and even the location the seeds were planted. Finally, after all the seeds were planted we looked at the field together and wondered… Will the seeds grow?

Five years ago I sat down with a friend who had all but given up on the Faith. I tried to plant some gospel seeds in him.  I kept thinking… Is this too weak or am I being too aggressive?                – planting too deep or too shallow.  Was I saying the right things? – planting in the right location.  Finally, when we parted ways I even tried to give some final words of encouragement in an attempt at fertilizer.  After the conversation was over I looked at him and wondered… Will the seeds grow?

I doubted.

Many of us wonder at the viability and prospects of planting gospel seeds and doing ministry.  We think… Will any of these seeds every grow?  We try so hard to plant the seed right, in our attempt to make their growth maximally viable. We look at the people we are ministering to in Jesus Name like I looked at my spiritually dead friend or the brown soil field and doubt.  We have a hard time remembering and believing that seeds grow, not because of our power but because of God.  God makes seed grow and God makes the labor of planting seeds never in vain and always viable in His power.

We are reminded by the Apostle Paul, ” I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.  The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor.  For we are co-workers in God’s service…” (1Co 3:6-9 NIV)

What is your seed sowing ministry?  Business?  Education? Working with youth and children?  Intercessory prayer?  Discipleship and small groups?  Parenting?  Missional communities?  Remember that God will make your seeds grow.  Don’t give up.  Trust in faith that the one who made seeds to grow will do just that in the field in which you labor.  It may not happen right away, but be sure of this… seeds grow!

 

Can you land the Airplane of Faith?

My favorite sound in the world is the sound of an airplane touching down on the runway after a successful fight. Can you hear it? You see a tiny puff of smoke and the sound goes, “irrrrt!” That sound represents all the training of the pilot put into action. You see, it is not enough for the pilot to have an academic knowledge flying, nor is it even enough for the pilot to practically know the proper procedures to land, but he must also actually, or operationally, land the plane!

The levels of academic, practical, and operational knowledge are very important to the Christian as we listen to God’s Word and seek to obey Him in the Spirit of Jesus. Entire generations have been taught about “correct” theology and how to apply it, but have never in fact done so. Rather than focus, as God does, on living out the faith, they argue about doctrine and sometimes never seem to live it out. It is almost like they are pilots who can’t seem to land the plane. This is what is known as dead orthodoxy. Christians can argue all day about correct theology, we can even claim to know how to live, but until we actually live out the gospel our faith has not become operational.  We haven’t landed the plane!  We need our faith to be not just practical but operational.

Operational theology is what is happening at the level of heart, what one really believes in the moment in time, and what we are passively or proactively acting on. So often we miss this crucial step in our spiritual lives.  It just isn’t enough to talk about what we believe, nor even how to live, we must also actually live it out!