Recently, during my research for a Biology class that I am taking to complete my degree, I stumbled upon a very interesting article about ancient and extinct date seeds that were discoverered in Masada, (an ancient fortress in Israel). It was built by Herod the Great for the purpose of repelling foreign invaders. The seeds were uncovered by archaelologists in the 1960's and had been carefully protected until recently.
Now immediately...this article caught my attention!! Now, what really caught my fancy, was that until recently, these supposed dormant date seeds had been only considered a minor archaeological find!?! But it wasn't until a genobiologist reckoned that even though the ancient seeds on the outer shell was hardened by centuries of desert wear and tear, it had the potential for life within, did it ever become an incredible discovery!!
Because someone saw the potential for life in a dead shell, the seemingly dead seeds were planted! The article goes on to say that within a few short months after the planting, the beginnings of a date tree began to grow! Now, there are two main spiritual points that I want to share with you that the article illustrated to me!
1) Within the Word of God, there are several references to seeds and the power within them. In fact, Jesus himself referenced the power within a seed! In essence, Jesus was driving home this point to those who were listenting raptly at His parable teaching. The lesson was that many discount the power of what is inside, by being influenced by what is not present on the outside! In other words, because they weren't impressed by what they saw, they weren't believing or interested in what could happen from the inside!
The Bible says in 1 Samuel 16, that the prophet Samuel came to anoint a new king of Israel in Jesse's house. When Jesse began to parade his outwardly, more powerful, more anointable sons...Samuel didn't see what he was looking for! The shame in all this was that David's own father overlooked and minimized him as someone who surely could never be a king! The prophet asks, "Is this it? Is this all the sons of Jesse?" Jesse replied, "Uh..well...there is one more..." But while he was speaking, Jesse was probably thinking "Surely not!" But Jesse fell into the trap that many others do, they look on the outward. But the Bible explains in (v.7),"But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart. We know the rest of the story, David was anointed as king and became a man after God's own heart!
You see, the power in the seed is not what it looks like on the outside...because it looks to be insignificant and small...but within lies a harvest of a thousand trees waiting to explode into life!
2) YOU are the seed! Within you lies an incredible harvest of life, but the problem with some of us is that we have a hardened shell that's been weathered by disappointments, hurts, failures, and overall...life in general!
- To the Christian, you have the power to reach and influence a great many people that have lost their direction and can't find their way!
- To the Sinner, you have tried other things to create life within yourself by planting or investing yourself in the erodong soil of this world! No one can successfully be rooted in a world that is failing because of its sin and hope to survive the coarse weathering of life!
- To the Back-Slider, you've become hardened on the outside, but there is potential and hope for the inside! The Master Potter wants to re-plant you in the sunshine of His love!
To anyone who will allow God to be God in their life, he will bring Life to the Deadness, and a Harvest from just an old, dormant seed! Such is the power that's in a seed!
