09-03-2005, 08:35 AM
SEEDS OF PEACE -----
by Max Lucado
Never underestimate the power of a seed.
God didn't. When his kingdom was ravaged and his people had forgotten
his name, he planted his seed.
When the soil of the human heart had grown crusty, he planted his seed.
When religion had become a ritual and the temple a trading post, he
planted his seed.
Want to see a miracle? Watch him as he places the seed of his own self
in the fertile womb of a Jewish girl.
Up it grew, “like a tender green shoot, sprouting from a root in dry
and sterile ground.†(Isaiah 53:2) The seed spent a lifetime pushing
back the stones that tried to keep it underground. The seed made a
ministry out of shoving away the rocks that cluttered his father's
soil.
The stones of legalism that burdened backs.
The stones of oppression that broke bones.
The stones of prejudice that fenced out the needy.
But it was the final stone that proved to be the supreme test of the
seed. The stone of death-rolled by humans and sealed by Satan in front
of the tomb. For a moment it appeared the seed would be stuck in the
earth. For a moment, it looked like this rock was too big to be budged.
But then, somewhere in the heart of the earth, the seed of God stirred,
shoved, and sprouted. The ground trembled, and the rock of the tomb
tumbled. And the flower of Easter blossomed.
Never underestimate the power of a seed.
by Max Lucado
Never underestimate the power of a seed.
God didn't. When his kingdom was ravaged and his people had forgotten
his name, he planted his seed.
When the soil of the human heart had grown crusty, he planted his seed.
When religion had become a ritual and the temple a trading post, he
planted his seed.
Want to see a miracle? Watch him as he places the seed of his own self
in the fertile womb of a Jewish girl.
Up it grew, “like a tender green shoot, sprouting from a root in dry
and sterile ground.†(Isaiah 53:2) The seed spent a lifetime pushing
back the stones that tried to keep it underground. The seed made a
ministry out of shoving away the rocks that cluttered his father's
soil.
The stones of legalism that burdened backs.
The stones of oppression that broke bones.
The stones of prejudice that fenced out the needy.
But it was the final stone that proved to be the supreme test of the
seed. The stone of death-rolled by humans and sealed by Satan in front
of the tomb. For a moment it appeared the seed would be stuck in the
earth. For a moment, it looked like this rock was too big to be budged.
But then, somewhere in the heart of the earth, the seed of God stirred,
shoved, and sprouted. The ground trembled, and the rock of the tomb
tumbled. And the flower of Easter blossomed.
Never underestimate the power of a seed.