Harvest Math

I sow one corn seed—I reap hundreds of corn seeds. I sow a packet of tiny lettuce seeds—I reap enough lettuce to feed my Sioux Falls relatives (and the Sioux Falls relatives of Peter Rabbit!) Similarly, a Flemish scientist planted a sapling willow tree in 200 pounds of soil. For the next five years he added only water to the soil. At the end of the experiment he weighed the tree (169 pounds) and the soil (199 pounds, 14 oz.). 2 ounces of soil had produced 169 pounds of tree!  

Jesus took his disciples’ meager plantings and produced an astonishing crop, feeding 5000 people with five loaves of bread and two fish. When everyone had eaten their fill, the disciples gathered 12 baskets of leftovers! (One basket for each of his “we-don’t-have-enough-to-feed-them” disciples?) 

I have seen God repeatedly produce the same geometric explosion in my students. If God wasn’t involved in my classes, my highest praise might be: "Nice class." Or, "A pleasant way to spend Saturday mornings." But one woman wrote:

 

My marriage has been hanging by a thread. This course came at such a crucial time. It gave me the strength to hang on to this marriage by looking to His word. I have found verses that spoke to me, giving me direction when I felt lost.  

She attended a marriage and family class? No. It was Introduction to the Bible! When God wants to transform a life he isn't limited by the syllabus! Another student who was "quite nervous" about taking a theology class because of his lack of Biblical knowledge, wrote:  

I had never attempted to read and truly understand the Bible. Yet, after diving heart first into it, I found that what I had feared was not to be found. Not only did I comprehend the readings, but more importantly, I was able to apply the concepts in my life. This is so amazing to me! Something that was written thousands of years before my time remains so true to life today. I feel as if there is a whole new world to discover.

 

And many of these students quickly become seed-planters themselves: "I must find a church and get my children involved in Sunday School. I would even like to be a Sunday School teacher! (Boy, I never thought I'd say that!) I have read some Bible verses to my family and I find that it is a wonderful feeling to spread God's word." 

When the apostle Paul found people taking sides between him and Apollos, he bristled: What after all is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe . . . I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. (I Cor.3:5-7) The marvel of my students’ growth has little to do with the small seeds that I plant. It is humbling, and often exhilarating, to watch God multiply my 2 ounces of effort into 169 pounds of heavenly fruit. I love God's math!  

What seeds is God asking you to plant? Beginning a morning Bible study with co-workers? Reaching out to an aging, bitter neighbor? Joining a mission trip to an Indian reservation? Take a risk! Watch the all-powerful Mathema-tician work His wonders!