Growth
A Season of Mystery
My four-year-old son, Jack, and I love our father-and-son Saturday projects. We recently planted grass-seed in the bare spots of our yard. I scattered while he poured all one-million seeds in the same spot! Next, we covered the seed with a generous amount of top-soil, which he especially enjoyed. Then, when the weather turned cold, rye shot up like new hair . . . in most places. I ran out of top-soil and left the seeds on one side of the house bare, exposed to the elements. No “new hair” there. By the time I covered them, some seeds had blown away. The rest lay cold and dormant – yet, still full of potential. And my thoughts turned toward Advent. 19th century preacher, Charles Spurgeon, wrote: “Can you make a seed germinate? You may place it under circumstances of damp and heat which will cause it to swell and break forth with a shoot, but the germination itself is beyond you. How is it done? We know not. . . . Life is a mystery; growth is a mystery; ripening is a mystery . . . Certainly, this is true of the rise and progress of the life of God in the heart.” We are powerless when it comes to making a seed grow. But we can prepare the conditions for growth. Advent is like this for me. John the Baptist preached: “Prepare the way of the Lord.” Advent is for preparation. We cannot manufacture the Christmas “Spirit.” We cannot make it grow or speed it up. Yet, we can prepare the conditions for it, such as reading Advent Scriptures, taking time to reflect on the meaning, opening your heart to new possibilities, and worshiping with your church family. Growth is God’s. Ours is preparation.
Happy Advent and Merry Christmas
Pastor Leonard
