PERSEVERENCE: Barreling Through The Opposition

Where the parable stops...
Life Lessons From A Seed

PERSEVERENCE: Barreling Through The Opposition

Luke 8:15 Those seeds that fell on good ground are the people who listen to the message and keep it in good and honest hearts. They last and produce a harvest. CEV

The parable of the soils (Luke 8:5-15) tells us that a true Christian will persevere, grow and ultimately bear fruit. While the parable speaks of the Word of God (the seed) and the effects of His Word in the hearts of people (the soil), there are lessons that can be learned from a seed itself.

There are three distinct characteristics of a seed. Those characteristics are perseverance, growth, and fruit bearing. These three characteristics are also evidences of a true Christian and will be the topic of this three part devotional.

One characteristic of a seed is its perseverance. After the seed is planted, it must persevere to overcome overwhelming odds to survive.
For instance, the seedling must overcome gravity. Gravity is constantly pulling against the upward growth of the seed. For the Christian, this represents the pulling back effect that Christians face as the Tempter brings opportunities to backslide within the Christian’s path; simply put… temptation. Just like the seedling has to overcome the effects of gravity to achieve its purpose of bearing fruit, a Christian must resist the pulling power of temptation to draw the Christian back into sinful habits. Ironically, the pulling effects of gravity helps to strengthen the seedling as it resists gravity and pushes on further and further from its place of beginning. The Christian’s faith also is exercised and strengthened as the Christian continues forward resisting the temptation to turn back. The strength gained will be needed as both the seedling and the Christian will face resistance all around them.

All around the seedling the soil offers a constant resistance. The seedling must persevere through this resistance of the all encompassing soil if it is to survive. The Christian's life is also surrounded by such resistance. It seems every day that a Christian will face rejection of some sort. There are some who will ridicule, criticize, and/or persecute the Christian because of his/her convictions. Sometimes it will be one’s own family or closest friend that will pose as the “soil”. While this sort of resistance can be difficult for anyone: just like the seedling continues to press upward despite the attempts of the soil to stop it or slow it down; the Christian will be able to overcome any insults, criticism, or persecution as he/she fixes his/her gaze upon the One above.

The seedling also encounters and must persevere through obstacles in its path. The seedling will either find a way around the obstacle or barrel straight through. For the Christian, these obstacles represent the various trials that a Christian faces. Trials can seem to work against the Christian as he/she resists the temptation to turn back and battles with rejection. Sometimes a Christian needs to find a way around an “obstacle”; at other times they must "set their face as a flint"[Is 50:7] and meet their trials head-on with a determination to not turn back. God’s promise to the Christian is that He will always create a way for the Christian to be able to bear his/her trials- 1 Corinthians 10:13. Whether God gives us a way around our trials or gives us the strength to barrel through… He has promised to always be by our side- Isaiah 41:10.

In reality the “obstacles”, “soil”, and “gravity” are working together to strengthen the seedling to prepare it for the great challenge of breaking through the Earth's crust. Once the seedling emerges from the barrier of the earth’s crust it is exposed to and can feel the force that has been driving it… the sun. I think this analogy describes beautifully the Christian being freed from the power of temptation, rejection, and trials that try to hold the Christian back. As he/she breaks through the barrier of doubt the Christian is exposed to the ever-present force that is sustaining them… the Son.