Church protected Mission ignored! Part-7

 

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John 12:24 “… unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.”.

I recollect my experience working on a social project for a tribe in India. The terrain was not conducive at all for farming due to the extreme unlevelled land. Moreover, this terrain received very less rainfall compared to any other places in the state. Hence, our organization granted funds for levelling the ground and introduced hybrid seeds for a high yield. This initiative brought life among the tribal people because the yield was unimaginably high and helped solve few perennial problems like family migration, school dropouts and other issues. As a sustainability plan, the concept of seed bank was adopted where the seeds were preserved for future sale and use.

I thought I will use this concept of seed bank and draw parallels to unfold the work of the mission through the Church. The seed bank is not a preservation storage cell where the seeds are supposed to remain there forever. There may be variety of seeds, which are preserved in the seed bank, but all seeds are there to be sowed in the field. Unless we just want to have it for a public display, I am sure it is never meant to remain that way.

Seed is life and seed belongs to the field. Every person who finds the Savior and becomes a disciple is a seed to be sowed. This however is downplayed in Christendom, more specifically by the Churches today. Churches preserve the seed in their bank and ensure their yield is converted to money and benefits the Church institution. Let me remind and quote of what Jesus said about the concept of sowing. In John 12:24 “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.”. If you know the context in which Jesus says, you will notice it was said in response when the gentiles expressed their desire to Philip by saying this, in Verse 21 “Sir, we want to see Jesus.”. If you want to see a desperate life wanting to see Jesus then you should be prepared to sow the seed in the field, there is no other alternative.

Paul says the same in 2 Corinthians 9:10, “Now may He who supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food, [h]supply and multiply the seed you have sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness.”.  Notice the words “seed to the sower”. Pastors and Missionaries, if the seeds are supplied to you, it is for a divine grandeur purpose connected with Christ’s mandate, the Great Commission. Do not over-preserve it to make it useless. Many members today are seeds who are and who will never be sown back. They will be taught to stay inside the box and be there faithful all their lives, like fishes in the aquarium. And then we hypocritically and superficially declare we need revival in our churches and in our cities. We Churches and Christians involve in all kinds of prayer, like, intercessory prayer, Esther’s prayer, Nehemiah’s prayer, etc. and plead for souls, but least bothered with the seeds God has already entrusted to us. Are you seeing the deception dear people? I am deeply concerned and mourning over the grave superficiality of Christians today. It is time we repent. We are happy over the Sunday celebrations because it gives us power, adds wealth, and adorns us with status. At the end of the day seeds are wasted away. The members come and go week after week as a ritual. Churches are happy with the numbers because their institutions are preserved. The fertile land is ready, but the seeds are withheld from sowing. Church, since you are the seed bank, preserve it but then soon find ways to sow it back. Preserve the Mission not your Church institution.

Click HERE in case you have not read Part 6 of this series

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