The Seed of God is in Us: Do we choose to let it grow?
The “seed of God” is the root and rhizome of every human being. It is our inherent capacity to receive and to be blessings. The question is, are we fertile soil within which the blessings of inherent Divine Presence will grow in us, glow through us and connect us to others, or will we be rocky and rootless killing ground?
Cal gave me permission to tell his story. “I have been far from a perfect man and certainly not the perfect brother. My relationship with one of my brothers has been troubled for a long time. The other day it crashed and burned when my brother sent me a scathing email message, filled with obscenities and vicious lies, although, some of what he said is true. I am not a perfect brother but he roundly assassinated my character and actually made me sick to my stomach. My impulse was to lash out, forward my brother’s loathsome words to everyone we know so they would see what kind of person he really is. I was shaking, beside myself and knew, I better wait before clicking ‘send.’”
Gazing into space, Cal paused and pondered. “For me, words matter. I realize if I forward my brothers vicious words I will be spreading his bad seed. The last thing in the world I want to do is buy into and multiply my bother’s hatefulness. So I deleted his email and emptied the trash. I want to spread seeds of kindness and forgiveness but I can’t think of anything good to say. The best I can do right now is not spread his hateful words.”
Cal understands that words are like seeds. Some words are the seeds of weeds and others are the seeds of good fruit. Some have the power to strangle and kill, others bear good fruit and support life. And, all of the seeds depend on the quality of the land they fall upon. Taking responsibility for the kind of land he wants to be, Cal chooses which seeds, which words, he will cultivate and spread and which words he will extinguish.
In his book, Meister Eckhardt: A Mystic Warrior for Our Times, Matthew Fox quotes Eckhardt. “The seed of God is in us. If the seed had a good, wise, industrious cultivator, it would thrive all the more and grow up to God whose seed it is, and the fruit would be equal to the nature of God. Now the seed of a pear tree grows into a pear tree… the seed of God into God.” (p114)
The “seed of God” is the root and rhizome of every human being. It is our inherent capacity to receive and to be blessings. The question is, are we fertile soil within which the blessings of inherent Divine Presence will grow in us, glow through us and connect us to others or will we be rocky, rootless or infertile ground?
When Jesus tells the parable of the sower to the whole crowd standing on the beach he says “Listen…” then he casts his words like seeds upon the people, all of the people; liars and cheaters as well as law abiding citizens, the ill-willed, the honest and the deceitful, the fertile and the infertile. (See full text below) Jesus sows the seed of his word to pollinate all of the people to realize, “The seed of God is in all of us.”
Jesus knows that much of what he says falls on fallow ground, deaf ears or distracted hearts. But, if even one person receives this good word, “The seed of God is in all of us,” and takes responsibility to cultivate and spread it, s/he will help to propagate Divine Presence on earth, multiplying it “in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”
Mindful of the words he chooses to broadcast or bury, Cal is fertile soil within which the “the seed of God” flourishes because he understands, he is either the killing or the blessing ground. It is up to Cal to choose.
Words matter. When we choose to speak lies, spout obscenities, stir up anger or spark dissent, some of our words fall on fallow ground and die and others of them land on fertile soil and multiply. A single emotional moment in which we lose control of our words can lead to thirty, sixty, one hundred times the anger or fear or bitterness spread among people. (Viral social media tweets and breaking news depend on this!)
On the other hand, a word of blessing received and responsibly cultivated multiplies the potency of Divine Presence on earth “in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.” This is the way to give life to the interconnected, interdependent Kingdom of blessings on earth… one seed at a time.
INVITATION: The next time you see a snarky tweet, a provocative post, or malevolent message; the next time you hear a boorish joke or hateful comment, DECIDE. Will you receive, cultivate and spread the seeds of these life stealing weeds? Or will you delete and put them in the trash and CHOOSE instead to be a “good, wise and industrious cultivator” of the “seed of God in all of us?” Will you be the killing or the blessing ground?
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All words are generated by grace and the grit of a real human being. Debra Asis
Matthew 13:1–9,18–23 Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. Such great crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat there, while the whole crowd stood on the beach. And he told them many things in parables, saying: “Listen! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell on the path, and the birds came and ate them up. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and they sprang up quickly, since they had no depth of soil. But when the sun rose, they were scorched; and since they had no root, they withered away. Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. Let anyone with ears listen!”
“Hear then the parable of the sower. When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what is sown in the heart; this is what was sown on the path. As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet such a person has no root, but endures only for a while, and when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, that person immediately falls away. As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the lure of wealth choke the word, and it yields nothing. But as for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”
