Good Day Dear Friends, They are one of the most amazing mysteries in all the world. Yet, there’s no doubt about it; we take them for granted. You take a close look at one and you can’t help but wonder how it works. Even if we crack it open, the mystery remains just that… a mystery. Truth be told, no one, not even the greatest of minds, has ever been able to crack open the understanding of how these marvelous things work. They are “seeds;” they’re generally very small, but they are a very big deal to us, for without seeds, there are no plants. Or is it, without plants, there are no seeds?   The Creator wasted no time inventing this marvelous creation, as it came into existence on the “Third Day,” as soon as there was a place to be planted. “Then God said, ‘Let the waters below the Heavens be gathered into one place, and let the dry land appear’; and it was so. God called the dry land earth, and the gathering of the waters He called seas; and God saw that it was good. Then God said, ‘Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees on the earth bearing fruit after their kind with seed in them”; and it was so. The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed after their kind, and trees bearing fruit with seed in them, after their kind; and God saw that it was good. There was evening and there was morning, a third day.” (Genesis 1:9-13 NASB)   The basic dictionary definition for “seed” describes them as the “grains or ripened ovules of plants used for sowing.” In other words, although we don’t understand the mystery of how they work, we do understand what a seed does. It grows… amazingly, when you put a seed into the proper kind of environment, it goes from being something that looks dead as a stone to being something that’s very alive and in many cases very beautiful, like a wonderful flower, a life-sustaining stalk of wheat or corn, or a grand oak tree. Not surprisingly, the Lord Almighty uses this infinitely mysterious but at the same time well-known creation, as part of His Holy Word for us. Depending on which translation you read, the Bible has many references to the “seed.” In fact, while more contemporary Bible translations have only about a hundred references to it, the older versions have nearly three times as many, because they would use “seed” as a term for things like “descendants.” And while the plant seed is very important for our survival, and so mentioned at the very Beginning in Genesis 1, the most important seed for Life came to light immediately after the Fall of man two chapters later. “And I [God] will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your [Satan’s] seed and her Seed [Christ Jesus]; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.” (Genesis 3:15 NKJV)   Here is one of Jesus’ most famous parables: The Parable of the Sower [or, of the Soils] “‘The sower went out to sow his seed; and as he sowed, some fell beside the road, and it was trampled under foot and the birds of the air ate it up. Other seed fell on rocky soil, and as soon as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture. Other seed fell among the thorns; and the thorns grew up with it and choked it out. Other seed fell into the good soil, and grew up, and produced a crop a hundred times as great.’ As He said these things, He would call out, ‘He who has ears to hear, let him hear.’”   “His disciples began questioning Him as to what this parable meant. And He said, ‘To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of God, but to the rest it is in parables, so that seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand. Now the parable is this: the seed is the Word of God. Those beside the road are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the Word from their heart, so that they will not Believe and be Saved. Those on the rocky soil are those who, when they hear, receive the Word with joy; and these have no firm root; they believe for a while, and in time of temptation fall away. The seed which fell among the thorns, these are the ones who have heard, and as they go on their way they are choked with worries and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to maturity. But the seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the Word in an honest and good heart, and hold it fast, and bear fruit with perseverance.’” (Luke 8:4-15 NASB)   Take note, there’s a whole lot of red poured out on your page, that is the Precious Blood of Christ poured out for us, through the totally mysterious, yet profoundly Powerful Seed of Almighty God… the Word of God… seeking to be planted in the good and fertile soil of the humble and contrite heart of one like you. We certainly don’t understand the Amazing Grace and Works of the Seed; all we know is that it works, and He works for Eternity! HE is called the Seed of the woman, Abraham’s Seed, and the Seed of David, but for us He is the Christ the King, Who died and Whose Body was planted in the earth, and from Him sprouted Life Eternal! O may we may never stop Praising Him! AMEN Tom