imperishable seeds

In Minnesota, it can be hard to truly pin down the end of one season and the beginning of the next. We all know that the second you put a winter coat away, we’ll inevitably get six inches of fresh snow that same day. It just seems to be the way life in Minnesota goes. With that in mind, as Minnesotans, we know that the official start of spring is not on March 20th, but actually begins the day we turn off the thermostat and open the windows.

This time of year engages the senses with the reality that life springs anew right beneath our feet. Many people begin to plan and plant their gardens, and the richness of well cultivated soil can be seen by all.

However, at the same time, any good gardener knows that if they plant too early, the frost and cold can wipe out any early gains, and that really is the most frustrating part about this time of year. At a time when things are meant to grow, often things freeze and die or never truly take root and become all they were meant to be.

It is in the midst of this frustration that I was reminded of a verse in 1 Peter that speaks to this idea:

1 Peter 1:23–25

23 For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. 24 For, “All people are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, 25 but the word of the Lord endures forever.” And this is the word that was preached to you.

Peter is encouraging his readers to recognize that they have been made new. They no longer have to chase after the things of this world that fade, like money, titles, and worldly achievements, but instead can take root and grow in the eternal things found in God’s Word. Unlike our early spring flowers, which can be stilled by the early morning cold, we can cultivate the eternal things that will not be cut down by a late frost. We do this by being rooted in the Bible, by finding quiet time with God, and by recognizing that even as the things of this world pass away, God has done something in us that will never pass away.

God has changed you. His Word has taken root in your life. And I encourage you, as we enter into this busy spring season, to spend time pursuing and cultivating the eternal things in your life the beauty that comes not just from the temporal flowers, but from the growth of God’s seed rooted in your life.