1 Corinthians 6:7 - "To have lawsuits at all with one another is already a defeat for you. Why not rather suffer wrong? Why not rather be defrauded?"
I accidentally stepped on a seed yesterday, but it's okay because there's a gazillion wheat and tomato and cantaloupe and other seeds around here as my wife, Amanda, and my mom, Carol Jane, and I have been having a ball here in Catawissa, Pennsylvania, staying with my Uncle Dale and Aunt Donna Yost on the farm where my mom and Uncle Dale and Aunts Shirley and Charlotte grew up.
Furthermore, when I stepped on the seed, I was immediately reminded of two things. One was today's Bible verse where the question is asked, "Why does it matter if you get stepped on like a seed?" Well, that's not what it literally says, but getting stepped on like a seed is the gist of the actual question in the verse, "Why not rather be defrauded?" Being defrauded is to lose money or property or rights because someone deceived you and/or took the stuff illegally. Either way, to be defrauded is to lose; to be defrauded is to be stepped on like a seed.
But what God's saying, through Paul in today's verse, is that, as Christians, we don't mind suffering wrong, being defrauded, and being stepped on because, as Christians, we know that we are always victorious in the Lord and God always works through all things for good. For example, a crushed tomato or cantaloupe is just the beginning of a bunch more homegrown tomatoes or cantaloupes when all those seeds are simply put into the ground! Yuuuuuuummy! This is how Christians are to walk victoriously and joyfully in every situation!
And in this vein, the other thing I'm reminded of when I see all these seeds spilling out is the fun-to-sing song, "I AM A SEED," by the David Crowder Band that we often sing in our contemporary music worship. Here are the lyrics to "I AM A SEED:"
"Oh I've been pushed down into the ground
Oh how I've been trampled down
So many feet on top of me
I can't help but sink, sink, sink
Oh I've been pushed down into the ground
Oh how I have been trampled down
Lord I put my trust in thee
You won't turn your back on me
Oh I am a seed
Oh I am a seed
I've been pushed down into the ground
But i will rise up a tree
Oh I can see it won't be long
Till I break free from what I was
Your river of grace flows endlessly
You won't turn your back on me
Oh I am a seed
Oh I am a seed
I've been pushed down into the ground
But i will rise up a tree
I've been burned up in so many fires
From these ashes I will rise
Lord your power has rescued me
For you I'll always sing
Oh I am a seed
Oh I am a seed
I've been pushed down into the ground
But I will rise up a tree
Oh I am a seed
Oh I am a seed
Won't stay long here in this earth
When you rain your love on me
Lord, rain your love on me."
Praise God!
Pastor Chris
"The gospel is the story of Jesus [what God's only Son has done for us that we can't do for ourselves], spoken as a promise." - Robert Jenson
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