The Seed
Adapted from "The Parable of the Mustard Seed"
by Rich Murphy

See Study "The Parable of the Mustard Seed See Book "The Parables of Jesus"

One day, two men met while walking on the road. Since they knew each other, they of course stopped to talk. Max enjoyed talking with Saul, even if he was a religious nut. He always had something interesting going on in his life, and was the sort of person you could count on for help when everything went wrong. They quickly caught each other up on how their families were doing. Max had a horse that was lame, and Saul stopped for a moment to pray for it. "The prayer probably won't do anything," Max thought, "but it can't hurt." As they were talking, Saul started telling Max about a new type of seed that he'd found. Since they were both farmers, of course Max was interested in hearing about it. Especially when Saul told him how well this seed would grow. A seed that grew into a plant as big as a tree but started out as small as a grain of sand. In all his years of farming, Max had never heard of anything like that. "You wouldn't happen to have any of this seed, would you?" He asked Saul curiously. "As a matter of fact, I just found one in an envelope in my pocket." Saul answered. "Would you like to try it out?" Well, Max was always ready to try something like that out. He'd rather of had a whole bag of those seeds, but one was better than nothing. If he could get that kind of yield from one seed, why, that could change his whole farm. Saul gave the envelope with the seed in it to Max with these instructions. "Now, these seeds are kind of peculiar in the way that they grow," he started, "You need to put this someplace where you will go by it all the time, because these seeds need attention. You can't just put it out in the fields, any old place. It'd probably be better if you put it in the vegetable garden behind your house. That way, you'd see it all the time." "Well, that's no problem." Max said. "I've got just the place for it. Besides, I want this right where I can keep an eye on it anyway. I always like to see these experiments close up." "Great," Saul replied, "Put the seed deep down in the best soil you can. Water it good like you would any other seed, and do you have a Bible?" "A Bible?" Max asked. "What does that have to do with growing seeds?" "Well, like I said, these seeds are kind of peculiar. I've never gotten one to grow except by reading the Bible to it. Now, I know you're not the religious sort, but if you just read one scripture verse to it every day, morning and evening, I think that'd be enough." Max chuckled. "That's the craziest thing I ever heard. But I'll tell you what. I'll give it a try. There's an old Bible sittin' on the bookshelf in the den. What part do you think I should read it?" "I think the New Testament would work the best." Saul answered thoughtfully. "You might just want to start out at the beginning of Matthew, and keep reading right on through the rest of the New Testament books. Like I said, just a little bit a couple of times a day should do it. You can do more if you think it'd do good, but that little bit should be enough." With that, the two of them went down the road their separate ways. Max was chuckling to himself as he went. "That crazy Saul, reading the Bible to a seed." But then, he thought to himself about how big the plant was supposed to get. "Well, I guess it can't hurt," he thought. Saul went on to his home praising and thanking the Lord for the opportunity to witness to Max. He'd tried for years to find a way to minister to that man, but every time he mentioned the name of Jesus, Max had changed the subject. But now, he'd finally managed to plant a seed in Max's heart, and he knew that he must pray and pray to keep it watered. Max planted the seed as soon as he got home. Then he went looking for the old Bible, so he could read to it. He wasn't a fine Christian man, but he was a fine farmer. He knew how to follow the directions his father had taught him, that's why his farm was always doing good. Every morning and every evening, Max went out the back door to read to his seed. His wife thought he was crazy, but then, she'd thought that for years. Every morning and every evening, Saul knelt down to pray for the seed he'd planted in Max's heart. He prayed that the Word Max was reading was going deep into his heart, to bring forth a crop that would glorify God. For months, Max watched the little seed grow. He didn't know that another seed was growing as well in his heart. One day, about five months after his chance meeting with Saul, Max stopped in at the tavern to have a couple with his friends. It was then that he found out how much he had been changed by the seed that Saul had planted in his heart. As in most taverns, the language of the patrons wasn't anything that you'd want your children to hear. In the midst of this, Max chastised his friends for using the Lord's name in vain. "What's happened to you, Max?" They asked. "Have you gone and gotten religious on us or something?" "No, no, it's nothing like that." Max assured them. "I just thought you might not have realized what you were saying. The Bible says that speaking like that dishonors God, and well, I guess I was just trying to help you out, that's all." Max left quickly after that. He just didn't feel comfortable in the tavern any more. He was really confused now. He knew he wasn't a religious fanatic like Saul, but… well… something seemed different. It was like he'd changed somehow without knowing it. That scene in the tavern was so strange; it was like he'd watched another person in there. Other things happened too. Instead of arguing with his wife, and his help, he'd quote the Bible to them. That usually shut them up right quick. In fact, it worked much better than arguing with them. Even though he'd been talking about the Bible, Max didn't realize that it was his daily Bible reading to his seed that had changed him. A year to the day after Saul and Max had met on the road, Saul showed up at Max's house. He'd waited and waited for the right moment, and this was it. Ever since he'd planted that seed in Max's heart, Saul had asked the Lord when he could go see how well it was growing. That morning in prayer, the Lord had told him this was the day. As Saul approached the gate, Max ran out to greet him. He was happier to see Saul than he'd been to see anyone in a long time. Everyone else was looking at him like he'd gone off the deep end, but he new Saul wouldn't. "Howdy there, Max." Saul said. "I wanted to come over and see how that seed I'd given you is growing." "Growing!" Exclaimed Max. "You should see it! It's only been one year, and it's already a tree, praise God!" "Yes," said Saul slowly, "I think it is." As they walked around the house, Max brought Saul up to date on some of the strange things that had been happening to him. Saul listened patiently, all the while listening for the Holy Spirit to speak to him as well. Finally, just as they arrived at the tree, Max finished his story. They stood together looking at the seed that had become a tree. While they stood there, the Holy Spirit spoke softly into Saul's heart, saying, "now's the time." "Max." Saul said. "There was more than one seed planted a year ago when we met on the road. Remember the instructions I gave you for making this seed grow?" "Remember them?" Max exclaimed. "I'll tell you what. I've followed those instructions to the letter." "Yes, I can see you have." Saul replied. "You planted this seed in the ground, and I planted a seed in your heart. As you were reading the Bible to the seed in the ground, those words were watering the seed in your heart. The seed you put in the ground has become a tree, and the seed I put in your heart has become one also. You're a changed man, Max. God has touched your life." Max looked thoughtfully at Saul, and said softly, "thank you, for planting that seed."

Copyright © 1999 by Richard A. Murphy, Maranatha Life.  All rights reserved.