SEEDS, PLANTS and SOULS

3 SEEDS OF LIFE

Since Jesus has been likened to a seed,
the logical place to start looking at botanical analogies
is with the seed itself.

There is a passage in John's Gospel
where Jesus compares himself with a grain of wheat.

" I tell you the truth,
unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies,
it remains only a single seed.
But if it dies, it produces many seeds".
(John 12:24)

Any seed is made up of three basic parts -
a seed coat,
within which is found an embryo plant,
surrounded by a store of food tissues.

These are either separate from the embryo or part of it
in the form of fleshy leaves or cotyledons.
When the seed germinates,
its coat must be broken down, eaten away or split
to allow the embryo to grow out.
In the meanwhile,
the nutritive tissues
will be consumed by the embryo as it develops.

In this way,
the outer part of the seed does, in effect, die -
so that the embryo within
can live, develop, mature, fruit and disseminate seeds
 which continue the natural cycle of plant life.

Jesus was making
his own approaching death and resurrection
analogous to this process.
He would have to die so that he could live again,
and so that others can live.
In the next verse he says:

"The man who loves his life will lose it,
while the man who hates his life in this world
will keep it for eternal life".
(John 12:25)

If Jesus represents the first seed,
what does the first crop of seeds
derived from Him represent?
In effect,
they are also Jesus -
they represent his presence
in the spiritual being of the persons
who saw his death and resurrection,
particularly the disciples.

A physical seed is valueless if it never germinates.
It may remain dormant for a long time,
but eventually it must germinate
if it is to fulfil its purpose of regeneration.

The same is true of the spiritual seed
that represents the knowledge of Jesus
and the message this conveys to the hearer.

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