Rain

A concept that is not unfamiliar to us all is that of growth through trials and hardships. If you want to grow, as a human and/or in faith, you are going to have to go through the deep valleys of life and suffer the climb to the mountain tops. Jesus seemed to make this point very clear. He said many times that we will suffer and be persecuted because of him. Growth does not happen without some suffering.

I was sitting on the big screen porch of my parents' lake house this weekend drinking a cup of coffee and watching as the world started to wake up and come to life. In typical Texas fashion it was already in the upper 80's with a high percentage of humidity in the air by 9 in the morning. Out of nowhere, it seemed, huge drops of rain began to fall form the sky. Slow at first, then rapidly picking up speed and quantity. Soon, as the rain pounded of the roof, it was so loud that I wouldn't have been able to hear someone say my name if they were outside with me. A song from my new favorite band popped into my head. "The sun does not cause us to grow. It is the rain that will strengthen your soul. It will make you whole" (I Have Made Mistakes by The Oh Hellos).

I read in my bible that morning three parables about seeds and plants. In Mark chapter four, Jesus is on a boat just off shore in a lake and he is teaching to a large crowd in parables, or stories, which he did often. He told them the parable of the sower, the parable to the growing seed, and the parable of the mustard seed. In the first story a farmer sows seeds that land on four different types of ground. Based on where the seeds fell they either produced a crop or died due to birds eating them, having a shallow root system, or being choked out by thorns. The second story explained that a farmer may be the one to plant the seed but he does not know how or when the seed will grow into a plant. The seed grows by itself, without the consent or even knowledge of the farmer. In the last story Jesus describes what the Kingdom of God and faith are like. He says the Kingdom and faith are like a mustard seed which is a very tiny seed but grows into a large plant that over takes the garden. Now, what I find most interesting about these stories is not the stories themselves but what happens after them. You see the writers of the Gospels wrote them in a particular way. They didn't just jot down a bunch of random stories and events about Jesus in no particular order. No, there was a reason why these stories and events were written in the order in which they appear.

What happened after Jesus told these stories about seeds and plants and growth was a storm. Jesus and his disciples got on a boat and went across the lake. When they were in the middle of the lake a huge storm hit that violently rocked the boat. In fear and panic the disciples accused Jesus saying, "Teacher, don't you care if we drown?" (Mark 4:38). Jesus, of course, calmed the storm and asked his disciples why, after what he just explained about how seeds grow and faith becomes stronger and how the Kingdom of God works, they still did not have faith. The storm was a test, a trial, to grow their faith. It takes faith, trust in the Lord, that the little seed planted in us will continue to grow.

It isn't the sun, the good and easy times, that will make us grow and become more like Jesus. It is the rain that will strengthen our souls and make us whole. "And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us (Romans 5:2-5). Always hope through your sufferings. E.