The God of the Process

Microwaves, Lipo, and Sod

Confession time. Let me get it all on the table. Right. Now.

Give me the microwave over the crockpot any day. I would rather get liposuction than get regular exercise. Instead of reseeding my lawn, I’m going for new sod.

Our On Demand World

Get the point that I’m incredibly impatient? Whatever it is, I want it now. And really, who doesn’t? We live in an on demand world. We need lightning quick download speeds, “freaky fast” food delivery, and packages on our porch by the afternoon.

Somehow, someway, waiting has become a 21st century sin. To steal a line from some dude named Paul, that makes me the chief of the need-it-now sinners.

Slow and Steady

But in a message to His followers, Jesus teaches something completely different (Mk 4:26-29). He tells them that the progression of God’s kingdom is a slow, steady process. Most of the time, we can’t see anything happening and don’t understand what He’s doing. But in the end, He will blow our doors off.

In Need of a Hero

Before we dive into the specifics of the story, let’s take a step back to see what’s going on here in the document we call the Gospel of Mark. It’s early in Jesus’ career as Speaker/Teacher/Healer/Leader. We find Him near a large freshwater lake in Galilee, the backwater boondocks of Israel.

The time is 30 AD. The Roman Empire has an iron-fisted grip on the Jewish people in Palestine. They Hebrews are hoping against all hope that God will finally send His long-promised Messiah to punch Caesar in the throat and bring His Kingdom to full power and glory.

Could This Be the One?

Could this radical Rabbi/Carpenter from Nazareth actually be the Hero they’re waiting for? His weird, bug-eating, fur-wearing cousin sure thinks so (Mk 1:4-11). So do the demons (Mk 1:24, 34, 3:11). Jesus sure believes Himself to be the heaven-sent Messiah (Mk 1:15; 2:10, 28).

The Son of Man teaches like nobody else (Mk 1:22, 27). He performs mind-bending miracles (Mk 1:26, 34, 39, 42; 2:12; 3:5, 10-11). And the crowds! Check out these crowds (Mk 1:28, 32, 37, 45; 2:2, 13; 3:7-9, 20; 4:1)!

Jesus’ Favorite Teaching Tool

We pick up the story as our Savior speaks to another ginormous audience, one so big that He’s boarded a boat to avoid being crushed (Mk 4:1). Once again, Jesus uses His favorite teaching tool called a parable (Mk 4:2). That’s simply His way of using a metaphor about everyday stuff to explain the eternal things of God.

He opens with a word picture about seeds and soils (Mk 4:3-9). When His personal posse isn’t picking up what He’s putting down, He gives them a crash course in Parables 101 (Mk 4:10-26).

A Second Seed Story

Christ turns His attention back to the big bunch of people on the lake bank. One more time, He compares God’s Kingdom to scattering seeds. “The Kingdom of God is like a farmer who scatters seed on the ground” (v26).

But this time it’s a different idea. His opening illustration is about how He’s throwing seeds of the Gospel all over the place (Mk 4:3-9). The response to God’s message of forgiveness depends on the condition of the “soil” in our hearts.

Spoiler Alert!

In this second parable, Jesus explains what’s behind the shocking harvest of 30 to 100 times in fertile ground in the first story (Mk 4:8, 20). Spoiler alert…it’s NOT the farmer!! His opening word picture is about the receptivity of the hearer. This particular parable is about the unseen power of the seed, i.e. the Gospel.

In this ancient agricultural economy, the Lord loves using farming analogies. As a matter of fact, there’s yet another metaphor coming up next about the amazing growth of the mustard seed (Mk 4:30-32).

The Kingdom of God

Christ tells the crowd that this story is all about God’s Kingdom. This is a major theme in John Mark’s bio of the Son of God. He brings up the Kingdom of God a grand total of 14 times in his Gospel (Mk 1:15; 4:11, 26, 30; 9:1, 47; 10:14-15, 23-25; 12:34; 14:25; 15:43).

Just what is the Kingdom of God? Two thousand years later, it’s kinda hard for those of us living in democratic republics to understand. In the U.S., we’re responsible to elect leaders to govern. In other words, the majority of us get what we ask for.  Insert your own political wisecrack here.

One Nation under God

John MacArthur describes God’s Kingdom as His “sovereign rule over the sphere of salvation; at present in the hearts of His people (Lk 17:21), and in the future, in a literal, earthly kingdom (Rev 20:4-6).”

It’s when God has complete control and command over both the universe and the human heart. It’s the ultimate “One Nation under God.” As I take a quick look around, that’s not exactly what I see. That’s because God’s Kingdom is what theologians call the already and the not yet.

Already and Not Yet

Jesus began taking back God’s creation with His invasion in a manger. Call it Operation Incarnation. At Christmas, we celebrate the D-Day of grace. That’s the “already” part. The “not yet” of Kingdom of God won’t be 100% active until Jesus makes His spectacular comeback. If you’re like me, that can’t come a moment too soon!

But the same “already/not yet” is also happening in the hearts of Jesus’ followers. We’ve placed our trust in Him to save and lead us. There’s just one little problem. Too often we still sin. As I heard someone say once, “I haven’t really died to self but occasionally I feel a little woozy.”

On one hand, I love Jesus and trust Him completely. On the other, I consistently fail to truly follow my Lord, glorify God, and enjoy the abundant life. But God promises to finish His process in me when it’s time.

Playing the Waiting Game

Back at the lake, Christ says the farmer now plays the waiting game after planting. “Night and day, while he’s asleep or awake, the seed sprouts and grows, but he does not understand how it happens” (v27).

There are couple of important points the Lord makes here. One, the crops don’t shoot up overnight. It takes time. Two, the farmer really doesn’t have a clue what’s going on underground.

Watching Paint Dry

Jesus wants us to realize that the growth of God’s Kingdom is gradual, often unseen, and almost imperceptible. A glacier may seem speedy in comparison. Waiting for God’s results can be like watching paint dry.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m NOT saying it’s a bad thing. Jesus’ point is that God is all about the process. He wants us to enjoy our spiritual journey. It’s a crockpot, not a microwave. It’s exercise, not lipo. It’s seeding, not sodding. 

No Fast Forward

It’s the opposite of Adam Sandler’s movie “Click.” There’s no magic remote control that allows us to fast forward through the parts that seem boring and unimportant. You know why? They AREN’T unimportant. Okay, I admit it. Parts of life can be rather boring. But they have value in God’s process.

But here’s where my impatience kicks in. Nobody has to tell me how much God needs to change in me. My issues are obvious. So what’s the deal? Why doesn’t He simply do it right here, right now? Would a little insta-sanctification be too much to ask?

The Graveyard of Unfinished Projects

Jesus wants us to realize our spiritual growth is anything but quick. Shoot, that’s why they call it “growth.” Or as Peter writes, “You must grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2Pet 3:18, emphasis added).

We might get frustrated and think God has forgotten us like that graveyard of unfinished household projects we’ve all started but and quit. Don’t pretend that’s not you. Go ahead, admit it. There, don’t you feel better?

God Isn’t Finished with Me Yet

Paul reassures his Philippian friends that God doesn’t work that way. “And I am certain that God, who began a good work within you, will continue His work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns” (Phil 1:6).

So don’t get disappointed when you don’t see immediate results. In you. In others. As the old saying goes, “Be patient. God isn’t finished with me yet.” Same goes with the knucklehead who looks back at me when I shave every morning.

Reducing God to a Formula

Now let’s look at the second part of what Jesus tells the crowd. As he waits, the farmer may know what to expect at harvest time but in reality he doesn’t have a clue “how it happens” (v27).

What a powerful reminder that we need to stop our attempts to reduce God to a formula! Sure, He invites us to investigate His ways and use the brains He’s so graciously given us (Is 1:18). But we also need to remember that He’s thinking on a higher level than you and me (Is 55:8-9).

Bigger than any Box

While God has pulled back the curtain of heaven through Scripture, He’s still a mystery we can’t wrap our brains around. He’s bigger than any box I can build. Don’t forget, it was this sort of foolishness that got Job in trouble. Flip over to chapters 38-41 in Job if you’ve forgotten what happens when we demand answers from our Creator.

God Does the Heavy Lifting

Jesus goes on to tell the big crowd that the farmer may do the planting but he’s not the one doing the heavy lifting during the growing season. “The earth produces the crops on its own. First a blade pushes through, then the heads of wheat are formed, and finally the grain ripens” (v28).

Christ is describing what theologians call progressive sanctification. That’s just a highfalutin term for the slow and steady process in which God conforms believers into the image of His Son (Rom 8:29; 1Jn 3:2). Did I mention slow? Remember, He’s the God of the process.

If we wait long enough, we’ll see divine results. I need to trust that God is up to something big even when I can’t see it. His Spirit specializes in working behind the scenes, quietly in the hearts and minds of Jesus’ followers.

Ready for Action?

While the farmer watches and waits, Christ says he jumps into action when the time is right. “And as soon as the grain is ready, the farmer comes and harvests it with a sickle, for the harvest time has come” (v29).

Has God used you to make investments of grace in the people around you? If so, be ready to roll whenever you see spiritual fruit. Paul says the crazy thing is that sometimes we plant, other times we water, and sometimes we get the honor of the harvest (1Cor 3:7-8). Why does it seem like all I do is spread fertilizer?

Peter’s Account of Christ

It’s interesting to point out that this particular parable only appears in Mark’s Gospel. Why is that big deal? Many of the earliest disciples of Jesus were sure that this biography is actually the Apostle Peter’s account of Christ’s life.

You remember our man Pete, don’t you? This hotheaded commercial fisherman named Simon was quite a longterm project for Jesus. The disciple Christ renames the Rock is anything but a rock throughout most the Gospels.

The Rock’s Wild Ride

Pete’s story is a wild ride. Calling Jesus the Christ one moment (Mt 16:16), Jesus calling him the devil the next (Mt 16:23). Denying the Lord not once, not twice, but three times when pressured by a couple of middle school girls (Mt 26:69-75).

Not exactly leader-of-the-apostles material if you ask me. Fortunately, Jesus is the One who’s at work below the surface. Our Savior will eventually transform this inconsistent, impetuous failure into the rock solid leader of the Twelve who preaches such an amazing message that 3,000 people responded to the altar call.

Fierce Faithfulness

What Jesus did in Peter, He’s still doing it today in folks like you and me. But it takes time. We’re talking days, weeks, and years. Our focus must be on fierce faithfulness, not with our finger on fast forward. 

Trust the process. Trust HIS process. He is God of the process.

So in the meantime, I need to step away from the microwave.

©2017

Jay Jennings