Daily Devotions
A Seed's Glory
Reading for June 13th: Job 40-42
Weekly reading for June 7-13: 1 Corinthians 12-16
On the surface, a seed is a wholly insignificant object. It’s unremarkable in appearance. It’s dwarfed in size by even the smallest of pebbles. Its physical presence is trivial and its future appears inconsequential. For all of these reasons, the glory of the seed is miniscule, to say the least.
However, a seed possesses enormous potential. In the parable of the mustard seed, Jesus spoke of the kingdom of heaven in terms of exponential growth. The church, as foretold by the Messiah, began very small before becoming something very large. The size of the mustard tree is a staggering contrast to the size of the seed that was originally planted.
Jesus also spoke of his life on earth in terms of a seed. In John 12:24, Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” Jesus was saying that his true glory would be revealed in resurrection when the glory of his body ended in death. And so it is with us.
It’s hard for us to comprehend how we’ll be raised or the kind of body we’ll be raised with. If acorns had thoughts, they’d probably have as much trouble wrapping their minds around the glory of oak trees. But the principle that the lowly seed teaches us is “what you sow does not come to life unless it dies” (1 Corinthians 15:36). It’s only when the seed is buried that the true glory within the seed is revealed.
“And what you sow is not the body that is to be, but a bare kernel, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain… So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body” (1 Cor. 15:37, 42-44).
The transformation of the seed does not take place because of anything that the seed is on the outside. It’s the power within the seed. In fact, the same is true for us. The mystery that’s been revealed, with all of its riches, is “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27).
Right now, we’re simply seeds. On our own, we’re wholly insignificant. But because of the One in us, we can confidently hope for glory. “Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven” (1 Cor. 15:49). Whether or not we let Him into our lives is our decision, but it is the difference between planting a seed that will flourish or merely planting a fruitless husk.
Father God, when the time comes for your glory to be revealed in all those who have trusted in you, make us a part of that glorified emergence, by the power of your Son.
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