Planting New Seed

We are excited to share a blog from our friend, Rachael Molle', a gifted fiction writer who loves Jesus and beautifully connects His Truth to life through this piece of both fiction and teaching. We hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

“This is the season of new creation.” 

She said as she stared at her reflection in the mirror above the dresser. Her gaze landed on a thin white scar, one of many that marred the pale skin of her forearm. She ran her finger along the line. She smiled when her gaze landed on Gran’s well-loved Bible. 

“It’s planting season, Gran.” She smiled and ignored the crack in the corner and the warped wood frame that spoke of sacrifices and difficult choices. One day, she told herself, the present struggles would be distant memories.

She turned away from the tired reflection, grabbed her boots, squared her shoulders, and left the room. Descending the wood stairs that creaked under her weight, she glanced around the farmhouse that was home. Things looked the same and different at the same time. Gran’s doilies decorated the old roll-top desk in the corner. A small ceramic frame that encased a picture of Annie’s grandfather in his infantry uniform from World War II hung on the wall beside a vase with a silk flower bouquet. The coo-coo clock that fascinated Annie from the time she could walk ticked quietly in the background. The house held warmth and comfort even when the cold January air seeped through the single-pane windows. A few glass crystals still hung from a small chandelier in the dining room, Gran’s favorite room.

Would she approve of Annie’s plans?

Gran’s beloved farm was struggling. Too many years of low-grade seed, insect problems, and drought had taken their toll. Annie promised Gran she would keep the small farm from going under before she passed. What would Gran think about turning the barn into a farmer’s market and store? Were the changes she’d dreamed up too different? Too desperate? What would she say if Annie could tell her she wasn’t making choices on her own anymore?

Annie made a pot of coffee and pulled out ‘the notebook’. She sat down at the kitchen table, opened it to a new page, and wrote, March 1st - the first day of my new life.

“This year, things will be different, God-willing. God has made me different.” A confidence she didn’t know settled deep down. 

She began to pray. “Dearest Father, thank you for saving me. I only regret that Gran wasn’t with me last night to see it, but she knows and has bent your ear for many a year. Thank you for this new day, this new season, this new opportunity to see you grow your creation. I believe you are good and have good in store for me. Please teach my hands to work your love through every seed in faith.”

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In Romans 2:28-29, Paul tells his Roman listeners that to be a Jew, one must have a circumcision or change of heart, not simply a physical display of religious obedience. The change of heart must come from the renewed spirit that is only given by God. In the book of Galatians, Paul further explains this phenomenon: “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything…” (Galatians 5:6). The physical manifestation of change does nothing for me if my heart remains the same.  

In our story, Annie tried to keep her Grandmother’s farm afloat, doing just as her Grandmother had done. Those efforts were ineffective. On a personal level, Annie suffered from anxiety and fear when she was young. Those fears festered and surfaced in destructive ways as she tried to manage them independently. Annie personified the small farm. Something needed to change. Not just a physical, cosmetic change, but a complete renovation from the inside out. 

Our souls are irrevocably broken by sin. The only remedy is a complete transformation by the power of God through faith in Jesus Christ.

Paul continues in Galatians 5:6, “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love.” (NKJV) 

Our faith in Jesus Christ works in conjunction with the love of God to change our hearts, perceptions, thoughts, and actions. In Romans 5:3-5, Paul speaks of these changes demonstrated by the unique ability to handle trials and tribulations. Faith working through love allows me to respond unnaturally to challenging circumstances.

Paul tells us in Galatians 6:15, “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but a new creation.” (NKJV)

Paul went to great lengths in this passage to illustrate that no outward, habitual religious habit or conviction can accomplish what the power of God through faith can do. God alone makes a new creation free from the bondage of sin. So the circumcision of the heart produces a new creation, marked by faith in God working through love! 

Salvation gave Annie the new heart creation that she desperately needed. Lasting, defining change only happens by yielding the heart to God’s Holy Spirit. Annie’s heart was dead, much like the overworked farmland that could no longer produce a harvest. Annie’s new heart has given her everlasting life, wisdom, and access to the Lord of the Harvest. Since Annie yielded herself to God, He now can water, feed, and cultivate His good seed in the soil of her heart. Annie’s new heart will grow, bloom, blossom, and yield a harvest that she never expected as the Great Vinedresser (John 15) tends the precious seed planted there. 

Are you weary and tired of pushing through tough and rocky soil in life only to find yourself increasingly depleted every day? Are you discouraged because you feel your heart sick and stuck in the bondage of sin? 

Hope, freedom, and love await in the Person of Jesus Christ. He is near to you, patiently waiting to take your sin and give you forgiveness and a new heart bound in His love and nourished by His grace. You need only to call out to Jesus. He alone has what you need and can never do for yourself. His suffering and death satisfied the punishment required for the sin of mankind. His sacrifice erased the chasm that your sin created between yourself and God. His death and resurrection broke every chain of bondage, untangled every tether of fear, and cut every rope of regret. Call out to Him now and begin to live the life of a new creation!

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Rachael Molle‘ began following the Great Shepherd Jesus Christ over twenty years ago, one month before she married the love of her life. She loves the Scriptures and writes about the importance of God‘s truth and love in the lives of His people. She lives with her family in a small town in Maryland.