Falling to the Earth

"How foolish!  What you sow does not come to life unless it dies."  -1 Corinthians 15:36

In today's Our Daily Bread David McCasland gives this wonderful imagery of his children trying to catch the "helicopter seeds" that fell from their neighbor's silver maple trees.  He writes, "Each seed resembles a wing.  In late spring they twirl to the ground like a helicopter's rotor blades.  The seeds' purpose is not to fly, but to fall to earth and grow into trees." (you can see a photo of these seeds if you click on the link above)

It is not the time of year to find these silver maple seeds in my yard so I took photos of the hostas in my yard this morning.  After the flower dies in early autumn green pods form in their place.  Each stem has at least half a dozen pods and sometimes more.  By November the green pods have turned brown and split open to reveal several seeds.  These seeds fall to the ground and as you can see by the bare stems, multiply into more hostas along our walkway.

I love McCasland's observation that the seeds' purpose is not to fly but to fall to the earth and grow into trees.  Man was created for the same purpose--we were placed here on this earth to multiply and to fulfill our purpose for being here--to glorify God and take care of His creation--whether it is the earth itself, the animals He placed upon it, or each other.  But because of mankind's rebellious attempt to "fly" on his own the only way for us to fulfill our purpose is to die to Self and be "crucified with Christ" so that we can be born again into the Kingdom of God.

I am grateful that God has provided a way for me to fulfill my purpose.