What Is the Kingdom of God Like? (Mark 4:26-29)

The Seed of the Kingdom

And he said, “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground. He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how. (4:26-27)

Through the parables, through the examples of what the kingdom of God is like, I appealed to the faith of men, faith in God and faith in His loving power. A seed is a marvel in itself. It contains a power of life that can be released when you scatter it on the ground. 

I had already mentioned in the parable of the sower that the seed was the word, the word of God, which is also me - Jesus, the Son of God and the Word of God. In the parable of the sower the focus was on the different soils, stressing the impact on the seed that the different soils have. In this parable, I wanted to stress the power at work in the seed itself. Both elements are important. Some people make complex theories on God’s part and man’s part in the relationship between God and man. On my side, I just used parables to help people understand that two things are at work, first you need to be a good soil for the word of the kingdom, and second you have to realize that ultimately it is the power present in the word that makes something grow, this power is not in the soil itself, it comes from the seed. 

The kingdom of God comes when God is king on a domain. The greater the domain where he is king, the greater the kingdom. In me, God the Father was ruling in all I did and all I said. Therefore the kingdom of God was in me, and wherever I went I could say that the kingdom of God was near. I invited people to welcome this kingdom of the Father in their hearts, by giving them the word, by giving myself to them out of love. 

I scattered God’s love through my life, like one scatters seed on the ground. This means that I did not limit myself to those who would bring fruit, this would not have been a good example of the Father’s love. He loves all humans, making rain fall on the good and on the bad, making the sun rise on the righteous as well as on the unrighteous. Even in the small group of twelve, there was Judas. I invite you to imitate me. Don’t limit love, that the Father spreads in your heart through the Holy Spirit, to just those you believe will bear fruit. Let the Father guide you so that you share freely and broadly His love, so that you scatter the seed of the kingdom broadly. I did not heal only those who responded and became disciples, I healed all who came. 

The marvel in a seed is that it has a power of life in itself, and it grows without the will or understanding of the one who scattered it on the ground. This represents the importance of faith, to realize that it is not by your own strength that a seed grows, you just need to trust this power of life to spread and expand. This is the same with the words of the Kingdom, with me. As you share our love to others, as you speak and act out of our love, you share us with others, you share seeds of our love. You simply have to trust that the one who has called you to love is faithful, and that His fruit will come to be by His power, not by yours. You are called to humility, to realize that you can be a participant in the love-story of God with humanity, as He spreads through your faith and humility seeds of His love and see them grow. 

Trust in the Father, simply scatter his seeds of love, knowing that whether you sleep or rise, night and day, the seed will sprout and grow, without you knowing what is happening. You cannot control the growth of the kingdom of God in a heart, your part is to faithfully scatter the seed, and simply trust the life present in the seed. 

The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. (4:29) 

Not only does the seed has a power of life in itself. It also appeals to the power to make life grow that is in the earth. The nature is full of examples of God’s grace. As the Bible is a book revealing you the love of the Father for humanity, the creation is also a book through which the Father can reveal to you the wonders of His love. 

The seeds of love that you plant, words of grace, words from the Father, you see how they develop and bring fruit. As you share my love to others, you see fruits coming and you can marvel at that. 

But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.” (4:29)

Although the one who sows does not control the growth of the seed, he does come to reap the fruit of his sowing. If the love of the Father is shared broadly, it does not mean that all will bring fruit. What it means is that a time of harvest is coming, and that what will be harvested is the fruit of this sowing. When an ear of grain has come, it is designed itself to become seed or to give food, it has no purpose of itself. This is the cycle of love, you receive love to bring fruit and give to others. The goal is never self-centered, it is always others-centered. As you receive love, you will be invited to share its fruit with others. As you share faithfully my word with others, you expect to see fruit come out of it. You don’t control, but you expect good fruit to come out of it. That is the way of the kingdom of God, that is the wonder of creation. 

Imitate me, as you ask and always more receive the love of God in your heart, as you dwell in me and I in you, as the kingdom of God is always more manifest in you. Share our love with others, through your words and your actions, scatter the seed on the ground with faith. Trust that it will bring fruit out of our grace, and that this fruit will then be harvested to become a blessing for others. The kingdom of God will then grow and spread to many, through your faithful love.