In John 12:24 Jesus said, "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." A seed alone is hard and generally small. To simply look at it, one might not see the power that is within the hard exterior shell. However, that power can only be tapped into when the seed is placed in the ground and is allowed to soften and literally rot. The soil is watered and in that soft, moist soil the seed dies so that something else can live. A new and beautiful plant developes from the interior of the seed and from that plant many seeds or fruit are produced. However, that production or reproduction is only possible when the seed dies. There are mutiple applications that come out of this picture that Jesus painted for us. The first of two applications that I would like to share is the seed being in the hand of the sower. Seeds are meant to be planted. They were never meant to remain in the hand of the sower or in a packet that is never opened and used. The cottonwood tree comes to mind when I think of this truth. The tree produces it seed pods which when the time is right pop open and the seeds are released to be blown by the wind wherever it pleases. The tree does not have a choice whether to release the seeds or not but it simply happens because that is the way the creator designed it. God designed the Gospel to be a seed for sowing. It it sown through our words and deeds and with the Spirits power, like the wind in the cottonwood, it is taken and planted where it needs to be planted. There the seed produces new and abundant life. However, we must be willing to sow the seed as the Lord intended for us to do and realize that it is the Lord who causes the growth. The second application that I believe we can find in this passage is that we are the seed. We must be willing to die and be used by the sower to produce fruit. God himself is the planter and decides when and where to plant. The seed cannot decide that it does not want to be planted, so why do we so often tell God no when He desires to plant us in a specific soil. If we realize that we are in the hand of God and are willing to be planted, and die, then God can use us to grow his Kingdom. In dying, the hard and inpenetrable shell of our lives falls away and the soft inside is exposed for God to use as he wills. May he help us to give up our lives by being willing to sow and be sown for His glorification and for the enlargement of his Kingdom.

Yea!! I just figured out how to put pictures on our blog, so I thought I'd publish one of the house we've recently moved into in Togo. The house we lived in for the first 5 and a half years in Kara, Togo was literally close to falling down, so we prayed for the Lord to provide us with another place to live and He was so very gracious to make this house available at just the right time. The house itself is quite a bit smaller, but the yard is much bigger and our children have enjoyed riding bikes and exploring in their own little mini park. We are in the states right now awaiting the birth of our fourth child, and miss many things about Togo... our Kabiye friends, brothers and sisters, teammates, and even our house. It is a home for us but is much more significant in its symbolic reminder of God's constant and sweet providence for our every need. He provides for all of our needs according to His riches in glory... How incredible it is that He loves us in every part of our lives!