The Miracle of Germination...

“You visit the earth and water it, You greatly enrich it; the river of God is full of water; You provide their grain, for so You have prepared it.” Psalm 65:9

Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth”; and it was so. And the earth brought forth grass, the herb that yields seed according to its kind, and the tree that yields fruit, whose seed is in itself according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. ~Genesis 1:11-12

 “To satisfy the desolate waste, And cause to spring forth the growth of tender grass…” Job 38:27

 “He causes the grass to grow for the cattle, And vegetation for the service of man, That he may bring forth food from the earth,” Psalm 104:14

2 Samuel 23:3-4 “ ‘He who rules over men must be just, Ruling in the fear of God. And he shall be like the light of the morning when the sun rises, A morning without clouds, Like the tender grass springing out of the earth, By clear shining after rain.’”

“Rain down, you heavens, from above, And let the skies pour down righteousness; Let the earth open, let them bring forth salvation, And let righteousness spring up together. I, the LORD, have created it.” Isaiah 45:8

 Though I have seen it thousands of times, a tiny vibrant green spire of growth twisting itself out from beneath a weight of soil never fails to astonish me with its mysterious constancy. Surely the beauty of what we do see is accounted for doubly by the invisible process we do not see. And despite the advances of scientific observation much of the process still remains a Divine mystery. As one scientist put it: “We understand the kitchen… We can see the toaster, the oven and the eggs and ham but that still doesn’t make breakfast!” In other words we understand how the outer coating of the seed is moistened, becoming malleable, allowing the endosperm to swell sending chemical messages to the germ. We know what hormones act to bring the seed out of its protective casing seeking light above, and yet that still doesn’t make breakfast. We know the ingredients of life but the actual process, the initial stigma that causes the life, not merely the proper environment but the actual initialization of life itself remains an utterly unsolvable mystery apart from a Divine Creator; a mystery that dozens of so-called authors and scientists have attempted and failed to explain, like Mary Shelley's fictional Dr. Frankenstein. It is indeed a miracle to witness the germination of a seed. As someone once said, “Anyone can count the seeds in an apple but only God can count the apples in a seed.”

Romans 1:20 says, “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse,” and 1 Corinthians 13:12 says, “For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.”

His invisible attributes are clearly seen…by the things that are made, and yet we see but through a mirror dimly compared to what we shall see hereafter!

“The works of the LORD are great, studied by all who have pleasure in them.” Psalm 111:2