What kind of seeds do you have planted? It is just about the time of year when folks begin to start their seedlings under grow lights in some protected environment, readying the starter plants for the spring planting season. Various vegetables and herbs will begin their growth - seeds sprouting under the watchful care of those who desire those gardens to flourish this coming growing season. The truth of the matter is that the gardener does not just plant any old type of seed - he plants corn seeds if he wants corn, eggplant if he desires that growth, and flower seeds if he wants to adorn the garden with some manner of color to attract the pollinating insects. It would be insane to think he could just plant one type of seed and expect all kinds of harvest of different produce! His harvest will depend on the seeds - not just that something was planted!
Light-seeds are planted in the souls of God’s people, Joy-seeds are planted in good heart-soil. (Psalm 97:11)
Light seeds and joy seeds - two types of seeds that produce a little bit of a different harvest in the heart and soul soil of each of us. I am a little bit more concerned with the light seed first - because when the soul has been cultivated with the right seed, the heart will be receptive to the seeds of joy that soon get cultivated deep within your heart. Light seeds might just be likened to the seeds that produce the types of growth that yield a harvest of fruit - like the gardener's planting of the corn and eggplant seeds. The joy seeds are maybe just a little bit more like the flower seeds he plants. One produces things that change us from the inside out. The other bring what is on the inside and put it on beautiful display for others to see.
The soul isn't always the most receptive of soil, though. If you have ever tried to grow much in this desert soil in Arizona, you will realize quickly that the alkaline content of the soil limits the growth. There is much work that must be done to neutralize and bring a balance to the soil so it will produce. Much in the same way, the soul soil within our lives needs a lot of cultivating in order to be readied to receive the light seed. There are stones to be removed and soil to be turned so it is can absorb the nutrients that will be added. The nutrients added, it must be watered and maintained. The soil is not receptive to the seed until it is readied. The soul is not receptive to light until it has realized the darkness cannot produce the goodness it desires!
There is something I have realized about the 'light seed' God plants. It doesn't take much 'soul soil' to allow it to begin to grow. The smallest amount of soul soil can begin to allow the growth of the light. Once there is light seed planted, the condition of the soul soil begins to change and as it does, the soil of our soul becomes more and more receptive to receiving more and more of the light seed. We may not realize the bounty of the harvest until we begin to see the second type of seed taking root deep within our hearts, though. For the joy seed begins to permeate the ground of our hearts and as it does, we begin to give evidence of the work being done within us by the light seed. As the blooms of the flower plant begin to attract the 'pollinators', the blooms of joy begin to attract the things within our lives that will help us to grow even stronger in the goodness and grace of God.
We need both seeds - light and joy. We need to remember they work on different soil patches within our lives - one the soul, the other the heart. Both need to be cultivated - both yield a unique harvest. One might flourish within, the other gives evidence that there is growth taking place! Just sayin!