My 8-year-old son loves watermelon. But there’s one problem – he likes it without seeds.
We normally eat watermelons with seeds intact, mostly for convenience, given the extra work to remove the tiny seeds. He reasoned that “No one eats the seeds. It’s not meant to be eaten.” On hindsight, there’s some spiritual truth in his words.
This precious truth is found in the first book of the Bible, in the very first chapter of Genesis, also known as the ‘Book of Beginnings’.
In Genesis 1:11-12 (NKJV), we read, ‘Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth”; and it was so. …and the tree that yields fruit, whose seed is in itself according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.’
This phrase was mentioned twice in these two verses – ‘whose seed is in itself’. We know that, in the natural, every fruit has its own seeds. And a seed’s purpose is to reproduce itself into a new batch of trees that eventually bear fruit.
The fruit will have ‘seeds in itself’ and the reproduction cycle continues, provided the seeds are continually sown back into the ground.
That’s why we don’t eat the fruit AND seed. We eat the fruit, BUT sow the seed back to its source, to the ground where it came from.
Why is this important? What does this mean spiritually?
If you liken the ‘fruit’ as a ‘blessing’ from God, then the phrase, ‘whose seed is in itself’ means that, ‘Every blessing of God contains within itself the ability to give back to Him.’
Whenever God blesses you, He has already provided in that blessing the seed to sow back to Him. When you say “God has blessed you”, in any area, big or small – financially or spiritually, in your career or when the Lord blesses you with children, you cannot say you can’t afford to give back to God. That’s like eating both the fruit AND seed.
The ‘seed’ is not confined to monetary terms. It could be offering Praise & Thanksgiving to the Lord from a grateful heart, worshipping Him in our most difficult time, or nurturing our children in the way God intended for them, not what we want them to be.
It could mean the discipline of waking up early to seek Him or courageously share a short testimony to someone. Ultimately, God is after our hearts.
It’s in this posture of sowing and surrendering these ‘seeds’ to the Lord, of yielding to Him, that unlocks the continuous blessings, favour, divine revelations, and understanding from Him.
If you do this, you’ll hardly grow cold or stagnate in your faith. The seed for the next blessing or breakthrough is found in the fruit of this blessing. Don’t eat the seed.
I have learnt to never underestimate the potential of a seed sown back to God. Nothing and no one is ever too small for God to use. He doesn’t need a lot to perform miracles. All He needs sometimes is just a willing vessel.
Just ask the boy who offered his lunch to Jesus (John 6:1-14) – 5 loaves and 2 fishes to be exact. Not much, but that was all Jesus needed to perform the miracle of feeding more than 5,000.
Were there other men and women that day with more food to offer than the boy? I’m sure there were. But the boy stepped forward and offered his lunch. A seed was sown that day.
‘Anyone can count the number of seeds in an apple, but only God can count the number of apples in a seed.’
I can imagine his joy and wonderment when he saw with his own eyes that his little food multiplied again and again to feed the thousands, with even 12 baskets of leftovers to spare. Usually the ones who are most blessed are those who give.
One area that matters to God is that of faith. Jesus talked about having faith like a mustard seed. He said, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.” (Matthew 17:20)
Living a life of faith pleases God, and He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. Keep sowing ‘seeds’ of faith as the Holy Spirit prompts and stretches you, and grow from faith to faith. For, without a ‘growing faith’, it’s impossible to please God.
So, don’t just enjoy the fruit of His blessing, remember to look for the ‘seed’ in the blessing, and sow it back to the Lord; for the blessing is in the seed.
