Good Seeds

Kingsley Ezeuwa, Elder

God can use the contents of today’s readings to draw us closer to himself and to one another. He can also use the readings to deepen our desire to understand the mysteries of doing what is right in the face of uncertainties. 

Many a time, the mystery of doing the right thing exists in the balance between observance of social norms and aligning actions with the holy teachings of God. Nowadays, the uncertainty that surrounds righteous living is not only real but really shows our humanity and the limit to which we can control unknown forces. Hence, believers increasingly find it difficult to live like Christ in a checkered world. We have become more constantly reluctant to try to labor for the common good, especially since we cannot easily control the process of the sowing and outcomes of our seeds.

We cannot give up! If we have faith, all that we need to be Christian remain rooted in selflessness, in sowing the positive seed of honesty, the seed of unity in diversity, the seed of fair reward systems, the seed of simply treating others, including the non-humans, the way that we expect to be treated.  

If we do not rethink the applied meaning of personal interest, the question of what we stand to gain, or how we can take full possession of the benefits of our sacrifices shall continue to skew seed-sowing attitudes towards ungodly directions. Sincerely, wishing to understand the entire nature of a project that we had helped to initiate is not inherently evil, but believers’ tendency to abandon godliness for a lack of immediate reward is what deepens the vacuum for social ills. 

Where we read in Mark 4: 26-29 shows that ambassadors of God’s kingdom need emulate the diligent farmer who is always open to varied results. We should not grow weary of scattering good seeds on any ground that we find ourselves. It is afterwards that believers can relax, pray, and expect bumper harvests. The soil, according to Jesus, produces the grains all by itself. 

From Genesis 8: 21-22, our second reading, another interesting insight appears around God’s role in allowing both the creativity and unpredictability of nature and humankind. The promise of our Savior Jesus was already visible when God declared, “Never again will I curse the ground because of humans, even thoughevery inclination of the human heart is evil from childhood.” 

Noah, his family, and select living creatures had just survived the punitive flooding experience. After which, the mercy of God grew much bigger for our sinful world: “Never again will I destroy all living creatures, as I have done,” says the Lord. He goes further to promise that seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, will never cease, so long as the earth endures. God is wonderful for giving human beings the freewill to decide how to live, and how to manage desires and outcomes. We need constant prayers, meditation, and bold deeds to create a better world where liberty for some, cannot translate to bondage for many. The mercy of the Lord endures forever, and with God, all things are possible, Amen!