SOWING AND REAPING

Time with Jesus - Tuesday, 21 February 2012

Hi all,

We have all of us grown up in a world of order. It may not be a perfect world. In spite of this, the world is filled with an order than could only have originated in the Mind of the great Creator of the universe. In spite of the catastrophic results of the fall of man, certain unchangeable laws remain. One of them is the law of sowing and reaping. What is meant here is that if a pair of canines mate, they produce canines. It’s not some sort of lucky dip in which you get whatever it was that came to the surface. There may be a small evolutionary variation within that species. But dogs produce dogs and not canaries.

This is true in each and every species. When men and women reproduce, the outcome is predictably human. Could you imagine what it would be like if, after the birth, the woman handed her husband a tortoise? No! It doesn’t work that way. Like produces, or reproduces like. There may well be considerable variations within a species. Nevertheless, in spite of all the Darwinian claptrap, the baby is always the offspring of the couple in question. Science can do wonderful things today. But even with invitro-fertilisation, the outcome for men and women is a little baby human. Thank God that’s not something Satan messed up after the fall.

Fish give rise to fish. Gorillas produce baby gorillas. Cats, dogs, cows, marmosets or all other species; they will reproduce after their own kind. Satan hasn’t been able to screw that one up! Not yet, thank God.

Sometimes, that which is reproduced looks different from its parents. A moth doesn’t look like a pupa. But this is the way God intended it to be. So, what will our resurrection bodies look like? We don’t really know. John’s statement gives us some thoughts. ² Dear friends, we are already God's children, but He has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like Him, for we will see Him as He really is. 1 John 3:2 NLT

The Gospels and Acts give us some idea of what He looked like some 2000 years ago. Will we look like that? Scripture suggests we will be like Him. Will we be able to do what He does? Will we be able to appear and vanish, walk through walls and ascend into the sky? Good question. We don’t know. Perhaps we will all get a huge surprise. Paul puts it like this in his first letter to the Corinthians. ⁴² It is the same way with the resurrection of the dead. Our earthly bodies are planted in the ground when we die, but they will be raised to live forever. ⁴³ Our bodies are buried in brokenness, but they will be raised in glory. They are buried in weakness, but they will be raised in strength. ⁴⁴ They are buried as natural human bodies, but they will be raised as spiritual bodies. For just as there are natural bodies, there are also spiritual bodies. 1 Cor 15:42-44 NLT

What more can we say? Today’s meditation looks at this in further detail.

Blessings

Jim & Phyllida Strickland

Sowing and Reaping

We went and bought a random pack of seeds the other day. We wondered what they would produce, there wasn’t any way, That they could be identified. So what on earth would grow? Perhaps some sort of specialist could look at them and know? They didn’t look exotic. To me, they looked the same. Runner beans or flowers? We knew whatever came, Would surely be acceptable; and it was kind of fun. We planted them and watered them and left them in the sun. At first we could see nothing. We thought to dig them up. But thought that if we bothered them, we surely couldn’t sup On anything that tiny. And so we let the be, Convinced that in a few short days we’d know the mystery. And so we kept on watering and fertilised the soil. We knew none of our cosseting would cause the plants to spoil. Then finally a few small shoots appeared above the ground. That’s when our curiosity could never know its bounds! They didn’t look like anything resembling the seed. The only thing we knew for sure was that they were not weeds. That’s how Paul the apostle, described what would take place. That when we’re dead and buried, that Jesus by His grace, Would take our feeble bodies, that were lying in the grave; And give them resurrection life, we’d know was truly saved. How was it ever possible? an evil man like me, Could get a brand new body that would live eternally? The question seemed improbable. But that’s what He can do, With dead and buried sinners, the likes of me and you. I don’t know how He does it. It’s rather like the seed. It grows into a healthy plant, by His Almighty deed! Why should I understand it? Why should I ever know, That dead and buried sinners would surely sprout, and grow, Into what He intended?  But then He pointed out, That only those who loved Him would germinate and sprout. Anyone who didn’t, would stay within the grave. They hadn’t been His people and still were Satan’s slave. But if we will believe Him; and we invite Him in. He’ll bring with Him the power to smash all death and sin. That’s when He’ll take the little seed that deep within us grows; And bring forth someone beautiful - Our Master’s fragrant rose. Jim Strickland – Written Tuesday, 21 February 2012