THE SEED

 “The Lord said to the serpent:…I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.”      Genesis 3:15

Over salad and sweet conversation last weekend, my friend spoke passionately about the above pivotal verse in Genesis 3 and its importance to the subject of our “seedless-ness” trend.  I would be remiss if I did not take us back there today, dear readers, for it truly is God’s confrontation with the evil personified and portrayed.

We know that this prophesy is fulfilled in the birth, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  The Gospel of Mark begins by speaking directly to its unfolding:

…John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.  And all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins…In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan.  And when He came up out of the water, immediately He saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on Him like a dove.  And a voice came from heaven, You are my beloved Son, with You I am well pleased.”           Mark 1: 1-11  

(As I’m typing this powerful Word, which Father God repeats two more times, I’m also noticing the descriptive phrase:  “…heavens being torn open …”  My thoughts leap to: “And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed His last.  And the curtain was torn in two, from top to bottom.”  Mark 15:37-38   This might be a stretch but the visuals are vividly similar.)

The Spirit immediately drove Him out into the wilderness.  And He was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan…”  Mark 1:12-13

As Jesus begins His public ministry entering the wilderness, He is back in a space of confronting Satan.  Sitting with that reality I wonder….could it actually be the same piece of real estate where the previous confrontation took place – only then it was a garden?  God alone knows that.  The important things are how Jesus handled those confrontations and of course, the outcomes. 

Dear readers, be encouraged as we fast forward to today. This is a bare minimum view of a vast theological truth.  Know that the most important thing of all is your answer to Jesus’ question:  “But you, ‘Who do you say that I am?’  Simon Peter answered, ‘You are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God.’”  Matthew 16:15-16

Oh yes, and do enjoy those wonderful seed-filled grapes, watermelons….and tomatoes!  The next blog will be much lighter.  I promise.          

Carolyn

 

 

SEEDLESS-ING?

 

“And God said, ‘Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth.’  And it was so.  The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind.  And God saw that it was good.”  Genesis 1:11-12

It’s mid August as I write this, and we are at the height of a particularly hot, lush growing  season in NE Ohio.  Personal gardens, rural farm stands and urban grocery chains are overflowing with sprouting vegetation and fruit of all kinds and colors.  We are blessed beyond measure with God’s overflowing provision and I’m so grateful.

I’ve noticed though as I walk through my grocery store each week, that more and more bins are filled with seedless varieties of this bounty.  I find myself gazing upon these plants that are now…seed-less ?…according to its kind; and the fruit…no longer bearing seed …according to its kind!  My Lord, what is happening here?

I confess…. I do enjoy having more pulp in my watermelon and less mess in dealing with the seeds.  And….yes…how nice it is to just pop each grape in my mouth and not worry about those seeds either.  I certainly appreciate how much easier it must be for all my grand kiddos, managing their littles with messy melons at table.  But…in the big scheme of things… Lord….what is happening here?

Good ole Google to the rescue has informed me that this “seedless-ing” is most commonly  accomplished by human manual methods of cloning and grafting or genetic manipulation using hormones and chemicals.   Hmmm!   Do they think our bodies won't recognize the difference?   I wonder what our Creator God thinks about all these “improvements”?   

“God said, ‘Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit.  You shall have them for food.  Genesis 1:29

Sigh!...But then I got to thinking:  yes….this is a big deal.  But honestly, besides putting it to prayer, I can’t do much about it. 

However,… I definitely can do something about any spiritual counterparts in my life that may reflect this same paradigm!   Is there still fruit bearing more fruit in my thought life, my choices, my work, my friendships, my time management?  Or…are there areas where this might be diminishing?  Where have I already begun to allow stealthy switch-overs? Where am I noticing some sterility or a strange barrenness?   Where are there leafy branches...but no fruit?  When opening all this to God, will it still be:  “God saw that it was Good?”   Oh Lord, please let that be the case.

What about you dear reader?   Any seedless-ing creeping in?

Carolyn