The Single Seed

My daughter and I went out for lunch today.
We had delicious salads and unsweetened iced tea with lemon.
As I took my first sip through the straw, I inadvertently swallowed a small lemon seed.

I laughed and reminisced.

When I was a small girl, watermelons were a much anticipated summer treat.
I couldn’t wait to bite into the juicy goodness of the pink center.
I always made sure I never ate the watermelon too close to the rind.
It always seemed too bitter.

I loved to pick the black seeds out of my slice and lay them on my plate.
They were shiny and slippery…impossible to pick up once they were laid down.
The white seeds were more difficult to pick out.
I’m sure I swallowed a few of those.

One summer afternoon, I bit into my watermelon slice.
As meticulous as I was about removing all of the black seeds, I apparently missed one.
I realized too late that I had swallowed it.

My mother seemed to take it all in stride…but my aunt was always a bit of an alarmist.
In order to lighten the situation, she would gently tease.
Sometimes she went a bit too far.

You’re going to have a watermelon growing in your stomach.
My mother grimaced.
No matter how much my mother downplayed her remark, I was young and I believed her.

For days, I glanced in the mirror to make sure I looked the same.
I was six or seven years old at the time and innocent enough to believe her.
Nothing happened…but I shied away from watermelons for a while.

When I was married…and pregnant with my five children, I carried them all out in front.
Inevitably someone, without much tact, would say that my growing belly looked like I was carrying a basketball or a watermelon.
Now…that was the best watermelon I ever carried!

Again He said, “What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it? It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest seed you plant in the ground. Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with big branches that the birds of the air can perch in its shade. (Mark 4:30-32)

The mustard seed, though imperceptible, and seemingly insignificant, produces a bush up to six feet tall, where the birds of the sky can nest.
The kingdom of God begins like a small seed, and then expands and grows.

I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. (John 12:24)

Jesus was talking about Himself when He talked about the single seed.
Jesus’ death and resurrection will result in the salvation of many.
From death comes life.

A man came to Jesus and asked Him to have mercy on his son.
The boy was demon possessed and suffering from violent seizures.
The Father brought his son to the disciples, but they could not drive the demon out.
Jesus rebuked the demon and healed the boy.

Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?”
He replied, “Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you. (Matthew 17:19-21)

One seed…our Lord Jesus…our faith…the Kingdom.

Our Lord Jesus saves.
Our faith moves the impossible.
The Kingdom expands.

All because of a tiny seed.

I listened to a radio broadcast explaining the kernel of wheat passage from John’s Gospel.
I have never forgotten the teaching about Jesus being that single seed.
A word picture has stayed with me all these years…
Just as the kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, and produces many seeds, so too, Jesus. Jesus is that Single Seed. Jesus wasn’t buried…as much as He was planted.

Jesus…planted…to rise again.
New life.
Growth.
Many seeds…all from the One.