Devo Week 26 - Discerning the Unseen Realm
“Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.” Matt.10:16
Jesus, the Seed - That Changes the World
Do Christians live to die, or die to live? Perhaps the answer lies in the metaphor of the seed. Only when buried can a seed find life. Down in the earth, the seed’s shell cracks, and new life springs forth. Likewise, for the Christian, we must lose our life to find it. (Matt. 10:39) Through Christ, the imperishable seed, we are resurrected to both eternal and abundant life. (Rom. 6:23, John 10:10) There can be no resurrection without death. (Phil. 3:10-11) Obviously, Satan was not a gardener. If he were, he would’ve never buried Jesus.
WHO IS FOR US
God is the master Gardener. He put all the needed DNA for both eternal and abundant life in Jesus, Abraham’s seed. (Gal. 3:29) The seed is a picture of both death and resurrection. Jesus Himself is the imperishable seed that will restore God’s image among both the Jews and Gentiles. (Rom. 3:29) Only through His death and resurrection can salvation and restoration come to all nations. (Matt. 24:14)
As Jesus, the seed, is sown and cultivated among the nations a harvest of souls will come forth, and God’s glory will spread. No other seed is needed. (Heb. 1:1-2)
WHO IS AGAINST US
Satan was forever defeated by the imperishable seed. So, the spiritual battle is now about the type of seeds we sow. Satan tempts us with hybrid or foreign seeds that cannot live and flourish. These kinds of seeds become like weeds that choke out the life of Jesus among a people.
For example, in northern Thailand’s land of Lanna (the land of a million rice paddies) the Gospel was first presented as Jesus the ‘bread of life.’ This only affirmed the Gospel as foreign to them. If the Gospel had been presented as Jesus the 'rice of life,’ He would’ve been placed right in the center of their story.
There is a danger in trying to reproduce what works in one field to another. Each field has its own unique soil. While we can learn from the present or past approaches, we must be careful with our seed sowing and tending of new gardens. God, the Gardener, has Jesus seeds for all nations. We must guard His seed, while also cultivating the life of Jesus among them.
PRAYER FOR SPIRITUAL BREAKTHROUGH
Lord, thank You for being such a good and wise gardener. Thank You for hiding Your wisdom in the smallness of a seed. Give us eyes to see where You have already sown Your witness among all nations. Help us as we work among them to be faithful stewards revealing and sowing the life of Jesus. Let Your glory spread to all nations! In Jesus’ name, we pray, Amen.