Spreading the Kingdom: A Morning Meditation (Mark 4:26-34)

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Jesus’ sermons were easily remembered because he preached to the crowds using everyday, ordinary images; things people in 1st century Palestine would’ve understood.

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Today, for example, he likens the kingdom of God to a farmer who throws his seed everywhere. Some of that seed lands in fertile soil, some on rocky soil, some is eaten up by the birds. 

It doesn’t matter.

No matter how much of the seed is lost, the harvest will come. 

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Now that farmer has two choices: to either assist in the growth of his crops or to try and stomp them out. 

Either way, the harvest comes. Nature is resilient; it always wins.

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In a similar way, you and I have two choices when it comes to the kingdom of God: we can either assist in its growth or try to stomp it out.

Either way, the kingdom spreads. God is resilient. The harvest will come. 

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The harvest represents the end of the world – the final judgment – the moment when Jesus returns and separates those who’ve helped his kingdom grow from those who’ve tried to stomp it out.

People are held accountable.

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The Lord invites us, then, to generously toss seeds of love into our families, our workplace, and the broader world around us.

Help to spread the kingdom of God, because some – maybe not all, but some – of the seeds we cast will bear fruit.