The Tree Is In The Seed Once, after watching a horrible killing on television, I was very much agitated by it, so I began to pray.
As I prayed the Lord began to make some things clear to me. The phrase, "The tree is in the seed," came to my mind.
As I asked what it meant, I began to have understanding. As I gained understanding two things became clear.
First Point First, I began to see why God would let someone go to Hell just because they did not receive His gift of eternal life by receiving Christ Jesus.
The question came to me: What was the difference between the hideous murderer I had seen on television and a "sweet little old lady" who had never received eternal life?
The reason the man murdered someone was basically selfishness. The one he murdered was possibly a roadblock to him getting his way.
Farmers Know In Advance A farmer knows when he sees a seed, what kind it is. He does not have to plant it and wait for it to grow before he knows exactly what it will produce. The reason is experience. He has seen similar seeds planted and then seen what they produced.
The farmer says he is planting corn, or cotton. He does not say he is planting corn seed, or cotton seed. He also calls the field a corn field or a cotton field when there is no visible evidence of it.
God Has Experience God has had a lot of experience with human beings. He knows how someone will turn out when He looks at them, and sees what is in their heart.
The only difference between the horrible murderer and the little old lady without Christ was time and opportunity.
Human nature -- even at its best -- is selfish. It might take a hundred years to develop, but eventually that little old lady would do the same thing -- if someone was standing in the way of her happiness, and she had the opportunity to kill them.
New Life Needed Whatever is in a person will eventually bear fruit. If that person is selfish -- they will do whatever they think is best for them. That is the fundamental defect in the human race -- selfishness. There is only one cure: receiving eternal life, which is in Jesus Christ.
Eternal life is the life of God -- Who is not selfish. That life, when it is allowed to work in us, causes us to walk in love to others -- which is the opposite of selfishness. God's love puts other people and their welfare first. Selfishness puts you and your welfare first.
The only hope to redeem a person is for them to have their nature changed. Only God can do that. That is why Jesus said in John 3:7, "You must be born again!"
1 JOHN 3:15 NKJ
15 Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.Time And Opportunity Because of our inexperience in human affairs -- compared to God -- we look at someone who has rejected Christ, but is not a blatant sinner, and think that they are not really bad enough to go to Hell.
But, when we see someone who is so evil that they commit a horrible, coldblooded murder, we can understand why they would deserve to go to Hell.
Yet, the only difference between the two people is time and opportunity. Given enough time, the essential nature of the seemingly decent person will flower and produce hideous fruit, too.
Second Point Second, I began to see, as God gave me understanding, how the seed form of something was actually the thing.
The only difference between a corn seed and a mature corn plant is time. With normal conditions of light, water, and nutrition from the soil, once it is planted it just takes time.
Seed Contains The Result In other words, the tree is in the seed. That may sound funny, but, if the tree is not in the seed -- where does it come from?
All a seed needs to grow is to be planted and to receive nutrients and light. Everything that a giant oak tree will ever be is in a little acorn. The seed contains the result.
When God gives you seed -- He is actually giving you the real thing. It is just in seed form. All that is necessary is for it to be planted, and some time to pass, before you see it in its mature form.
God's Word Will Produce For example, God gave you prosperity in seed form in the Bible. The scriptures promising prosperity, when planted in your heart, will produce a harvest of prosperity. The scriptures promising health, when planted in your heart, will produce a harvest of health in your life.
God does not have to give you anything else. God's Word is a seed. Everything to produce what that Word promises is contained within itself. Plant it and it will grow and produce a harvest!
LUKE 8:11 NKJ
11 "Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.
Go to BELIEVE! Papers List
Go to Believers Home Page