The book of Ecclesiastes informs us that there is “For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven. A time to be born and a time to die. A time to plant and a time to harvest.” Ecclesiastes 3:1–2 (NLT)
As each year goes by, we grow older, but that does not mean that we should stop growing. In fact, growing by learning and doing new things revitalizes us. There are things in our lives that are meant to remain constant and stable, but God also brings us into new areas of responsibilities, and new levels of dedication.
We have a grandson who just turned two. He is growing up fast, much faster than his mother would like to see. Growth, whether in people, animals, or plants, should not be a mystery. On the one hand there is nothing that you can do to make something grow apart from creating a suitable environment.
A child requires nutrition, sleep, a safe environment, and love. Apart from sickness and disease the child will grow up physically, as expected.
At our church we speak about creating an environment for people to know God’s love. Growth cannot be forced, but we can ensure that good nutrients and water are provided. We have a responsibility to guard against disease and any predators that try to attack. The good seed is the word of God, and when it is found in the right environment growth will happen.
Grow Up
I am not a farmer. I’m not even a gardener, but I have a basic understanding of the elements necessary for growth. The Bible has numerous illustrations of farming and growing. To begin with you need good seed. For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. 1 Peter 1:23 (NIV)
Without seed, there is no growth. However, not every seed is a good seed. Additionally, not every good seed finds receptive conditions. Jesus told this parable: “Listen! Consider the sower who went out to sow. As he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it. Other seed fell on rocky ground where it didn’t have much soil, and it grew up quickly, since the soil wasn’t deep. When the sun came up, it was scorched, and since it had no root, it withered away. Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns came up and choked it, and it didn’t produce fruit. Still other seed fell on good ground and it grew up, producing fruit that increased thirty, sixty, and a hundred times.” Then he said, “Let anyone who has ears to hear listen.” Mark 4:3–9 (CSB)
This parable is not the final word on seed growth and germination. Conscientious farmers prepare the ground before they plant the seed. They remove rock, if necessary, add amendments to the soil. In dry environments where there is not much rainfall, they provide irrigation. In short, much arduous work goes into preparing the ground in order to ensure a fruitful harvest.
Grow in God
But the simple truth is, only God can cause the seed to grow. While there is much for us to do as Christ-followers, Paul recognized this truth: I planted the seed in your hearts, and Apollos watered it, but it was God who made it grow. It’s not important who does the planting, or who does the watering. What’s important is that God makes the seed grow. 1 Corinthians 3:6–7 (NLT)
Question: are we placing ourselves in an environment that is suitable for growth? If we are not growing, we are dying. It is only by abiding in the vine that we can bear much fruit. People who jump from church to church seldom stay planted long enough to grow. While only God can cause growth, there are many things that we do to inhibit growth.
Stress and hardship are necessary for growth. We planted fruit trees. The label said that fruitfulness required at least 40/days per year where the nighttime temperature was lower than 38 degrees.
One final verse before we move on: The Sovereign Lord will show his justice to the nations of the world. Everyone will praise him! His righteousness will be like a garden in early spring, with plants springing up everywhere. Isaiah 61:11 (NLT)
May you never stop growing in Christ!
In the same way that the earth has its seasons, and remembering the words of the preacher in Ecclesiastes, never stop growing. There are seasons in life. Seed is not planted just one time, but it grows, and it is harvested, and then the cycle repeats.
In the same way that each season a farmer will plant a new crop, stewarded to maturity, where it blooms and ripens, and then it is sent to the marketplace to provide sustenance for others.
Oswald Chambers spoke often of being “broken bread and poured out wine.” We are not meant to grow and be stored away as a trophy. God causes us to grow so that we can be sustenance and nourishment for a world that is hungry. Even though they don’t know for what they hunger.
But then another season will come along, we do not start with nothing, we add to our faith: In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, 2 Peter 1:5 (NLT)
At first the yield may not even be tenfold, but as we move forward and remain faithful, our effectiveness will multiply. But we can never rest on yesterday’s growth, or yesterday’s anointing. We need fresh oil.
Let’s keep moving forward. Let’s continually grow, let’s continually spend time in the presence of Jesus, so that our lives will be fruitful and productive. And then as we go, we will be a blessing to a world so desperate to know that there is a God in heaven that loves them, and the Savior who died for their sins. It’s time to grow!
Steve Ekeroth