Seedless? Seedful!

What is a fruit?

In science and botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants. The Cambridge dictionary provides a more layman's definition of a fruit as an edible and usually sweet product of a plant or tress that contains a seed or pit.

What then is a seed? The botanical definition of a seed is a plant structure containing an embryo of a new plant and some stored nutrients. The Cambridge dictionary's lay definition is similar - an object produced by a plant and from which, when it is planted, a new plant can grow.

But what about seedless fruits? There's a shop near my home which sells these enormous and super delicious watermelons that literally have no seeds in them. I love them! But, you know... no seeds, so... is it even a fruit?

Why am I writing about seedless fruits? Well, I heard a really good message on the topic of seedlessness from Bishop Oriel from the Philippines recently, and I have since had the opportunity to properly reflect on it.

Is there such a thing as a seedless Christian? Fruit, but no seed?

In Galatians 5:22-23, the apostle Paul writes that the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness and self-control. 

These are all things that we want in our lives. They are wonderful fruit.

But what about seed?

In Matthew 13:23 Jesus teaches the seed of the Word of God which falls on good soil is like someone who hears the Word and understands it. He then produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was down,

In Matthew 13:31 Jesus goes on to explain that the kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is such a tiny seed, when it grows, it becomes a tree, where birds can come and rest in its branches.

The seedless watermelon that I love to eat is great - it's sweet, nutritious and enjoyable. But as Bishop Oriel observes - once eaten, that's the end of the watermelon.

But if there is seed... then it can produce 30, 60 or 100 times what is sown. It can grow and provide sustenance to others.

What is my faith life like? What is my cell group like? What is my church like?

Full of fruit? Good for people to enjoy? Wonderful!

But is there any seed that is put to the work of sowing, so that it can multiply and grow? 

A seedless life, a seedless cell group, a seedless church... no matter how sweet and enjoyable it is... will one day be fruitless.

But a seedful life, cell group and church... one that puts itself to the hard work of plowing, sowing, watering and harvesting... it will have much fruit, more seed, more goodness.

Jesus recognised this principle. In John 12:24, as His crucifixion approached, He taught the disciples, "Very truly I tell you, 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."

In John 14:12 and John 16:7, He goes on to promise, "Whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father... it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you."

Jesus is saying, I have to go, I have to be sown. And when that happens, you will do even more. There will be even more fruit and seeds.

Wow.

What about me? When I depart, will I have people who will do even more than me? Will I have just lived a life of apparent fruitfulness, that I have enjoyed, or perhaps even my cell and church have enjoyed, but produced no seed for the next generation?

Will I have enjoyed wonderful quiet time with God? Enjoyed Spirit-filled worship and celebration? Enjoyed fellowship and encouragement with my cell and church community? Will I even have done some good work among the poor and disadvantaged? Maybe even experienced decades of all this wonderful fruit?

But where is the seed? Who have I brought into the Kingdom of God? Are they also disciplemakers and seedmakers in their own right? Is my cell group full of disciplemakers and seedsowers? Is my church? Or we turning our friends and neighbours God-ward? Are we reaching the next generation? Are we blessing our friends among the nations?

Seedfulness is less comfortable than seedlessness. Who likes to crunch into the seeds in a watermelon? It's easy to wolf down seedless fruit, and have nothing else to worry about. It's much more work to plow, to sow, to water and to care, with no assurance that we will see the roots take hold and seedlings grow into trees, fruit and seed, more than we ever planted.

But every fruit must contain seed. At the very minimum, you'd think we have to replicate ourselves, though of course our calling is to multiplication! It's not what we leave on this earth, it's who we leave on this earth. Who will I leave on this earth who will do more than me?

I am thankful that God has allowed me some seed in my family, as my children serve with me in the ministry. As they navigate the path ahead as university students and young working adults, I pray that they will continue to find opportunities to serve. May my children and one day my children's children be not just fruitful, but seedful. May they be more, and do more than me for Jesus! 

I am thankful that God has allowed me some seed in my cell. It is one of the great joys of my life to see them keep bringing new friends into our faith community, and faithfully serve among the nations. I pray that they will not just be fruitful in this generation, but seedful for the next. May they be more, and do more than me for Jesus too. To be truly fruitful, the condition of seedfulness must be our present and continuous condition - not just oh, I once had seed - but I now have seed!

So, not seedless, but seedful. Why? As Robert Schuller once said, "anyone can count the seeds in an apple. But only God can count the apples in a seed!"