How Spiritual Things Become Material Things

Parables of Jesus: The Growing Seed

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. The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”
- Mark 4:26-29 (English Standard Version Anglicised, ESVUK)

The seed represents life that springs from seeming death

The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground.

This parable of Jesus begins with the introduction of two metaphors: seed and earth.

A seed is a living thing that grows; not only that, but it contains within it the full potential of its mature form, and more — it holds within it the promise and fulfilment of thousands more like itself.

The earth is a seemingly dead thing — all living things return to the earth when they die, as dead matter. Paradoxically, the great expanse of dead earth is what produces and enables life to grow. (We now know about organic matter, chemicals and nutrients that are rich in the soil, but Jesus’s contemporary audience wouldn’t have.)

Spiritual growth is not dependent on cognitive attention

He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how.

From a day to day human perspective, growth is miraculous. It happens independent of us. You go to sleep, you wake up, the seed has grown.

This is different from, for example, building. When a person builds something, progress only happens while he is working on it. Stop building that wooden table and that wooden table stops progressing. Go to bed at night and when you wake up the next morning, you pick up right where you left off. The table doesn’t build itself. It doesn’t grow.

The kingdom of God — the divine kingdom, the spiritual world, the unseen realm — is likewise independent of us. It exists intelligently without human intervention. Without the input of ego.

The spiritual realm does not require assembly by human hands.

This can be offensive to the ego, which likes to feel that it is the prime mover of everything.

But on the other hand, it’s a great source of relief and peace to the being, to know that reality carries on by itself.

The seeds you plant — seeds of love, abundance, wisdom, etc — will grow independent of your conscious attention. (Beware that bad seeds likewise grow.)

Spiritual growth follows a process, whether it’s quick or slow

The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear.

At the same time, spiritual creation doesn’t happen instantly (although it sometimes seems that way because supernatural time relative to chronological time can seem instantaneous). There’s always a process; an organic process. From the blade to the ear, then the full grain.

When I plant a seed, it has to go through a growth process. From the intention/inception/inspiration to the first manifestations of it, to the impending manifestation, to the full manifestation of it.

It must follow the growth process, and it must go in this direction, not the other.

Spiritual creation is for actual use, or it’s just fantasy

But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.

When the fulfilment of the spiritual seed has been fully manifested, I need to put in the sickle — reach out and take it.

Spiritual creation is ultimately manifested in the material world.

It is for food. It is for use.

There’s no point building castles in the sky. Unless one also ultimately builds the foundations under them, that reach the earth. Then the ethereal becomes material and of use to humanity.

What’s it mean to me?

So let’s say I want a car. Why is it always a car? It’s a handy example.

I want a car to ferry my family or fetch people to church or ferry rescue animals. Whatever.

The spiritual seed of a black, gleaming SUV with huge tyres takes root in my spirit, my inner self.

And then the blade breaks out. Information about big black SUVs come to me, insider news, and so on.

And then the ear shows up. Finances start showing up to materialise the project. Perhaps an unexpected phone call. Someone has a big, black SUV to unload speedily and cheaply because they’re upgrading to a tank or something.

And finally, the big, black SUV shows up in my driveway. Yay, puppies.

If you don’t like big, black SUVs, replace the seed with whatever’s your need. That’s why Jesus told parables and didn’t write Ikea instruction manuals.

These are stories that are general, universal, timeless and yet precisely relevant to individuals in individual moments.