John 4:34-38 Seeds and Faith

John 12:23-26

The Growth of the Greatest Wheat Seed

23 Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24 Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. 25 Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.

John 4:34-38

One Sows and Another Reaps

34 “My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. 35 Don’t you have a saying, ‘It’s still four months until harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. 36 Even now the one who reaps draws a wage and harvests a crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. 37 Thus the saying ‘One sows and another reaps’ is true. 38 I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor.”

1 Peter 3:16-17

Always Be Prepared

16 But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, 17 keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.

Luke 8:11-15

Seeds and the Word of God

11 “This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God. 12 Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved.13 Those on the rocky ground are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away. 14 The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature.15 But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.

The Bible often talks about seeds and relate seeds to a growing faith...Seeds that are planted, for instance, months ago or even years ago can over time grow into hope and into faith...

So sometimes it take time for faith to develop...A seed is not planted today and then in a few minutes becomes a plant...A bulb is not planted and later that day -it becomes a flower...Some things in life take time and some patient...As with faith, we do not always just become faithful the first time we hear the Word of God...Seeds need to be planted and be nourished and helped along...And some seeds when they die produce many seeds...The seemingly dead seed comes back to life after it is planted and nourished with good soil and water...Jesus' death is the greatest example of a seed dying and coming to life and producing and connecting many, many people to faith...

When we follow Jesus, we are actually planting seeds and sowing...We plant a seed that starts in the minds of others...When others see followers of Christ happy and focused on Him, we are plant healthy seeds in others, while strengthening ourselves and our faith...We plant a seed that starts with someone we just touched or talked to that was in our lives...If the planting is done with wholesome, healthy, happy seeds, they often take root...If and when the seed sprouts, and has some age on it -it has a good chance to grow...It has a chance for harvest or strong growth...And the more seeds that we plant the more harvest we will do or others will do later...Planted seeds are encouragement for faith and hope...These seeds that are planted are seeds of love, and what they harvest is eternal life...