And he said, “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground. He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how. The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”

Devotion based on Mark 4:26-29

Farming is a lot of work. Farmers are some of the hardest-working people that I have the privilege of knowing. They are up before the sun and go to bed long after the sun has set. They plant and harvest. They maintain buildings, equipment, and acreage. They make deals buying what the farm needs and selling what it produces.

However, the one thing they don’t have to do is cause the plants to grow. The farmer cannot will them to grow or find just the right words to say to inspire the seeds to sprout. The farmer can’t pay a bribe to make the plants grow or put in some overtime hours to make the plants grow. The seeds sprout, grow, and produce a harvest all on their own.

It is the same with the kingdom of God. There is much to do in the kingdom of God, and like the farmer, we are to be busy. There are people to love and good works to do. We are to be busy loving our neighbor as ourselves and keeping the commands of God.

However, the one thing we don’t do is cause the kingdom of God to grow. We scatter seed by sharing his Word, but the kingdom of God does not grow by our own will or efforts. It doesn’t grow because I want it to or because I have inspired it. Though we might not know how it grows, it will have a harvest all on its own.

There is much for us to do in the kingdom of God. Yet the growth is not our work or effort, but God’s.

Prayer: