A Seed of Hope.

Working the soil, planting the seed, watering, pulling weeds, harvesting. As a gardener, there is a not only a sense of satisfaction around the work of planting and growing something in your own garden, there is a sense of anticipation. We can’t see what is happening once we cover the seeds with soil, with patience we tenderly care for and wait for the first signs of life to pop up, reaching out for the light of day to nourish and strengthen the tender shoots that have the potential to bear a bountiful supply of fruit or flowers.

There is a sense of anticipation and mystery around this verse in Genesis 3:15, “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.” This is one of the early verses in scripture that points directly to Jesus as our Lord and Saviour (Her seed), the one who will stand against sin and overcome death. The enmity or hostility that we read about here warns us of the perpetual battle (the fight between good and evil) that we as God’s people will face as we live together on this side of heaven. 1 John 3:8 reminds us that “the reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devils work”. Christ came to “bruise”, “crush” or “strike” the head of the serpent and to be the gateway for us to be in relationship with His Father, our Heavenly Father. As we continue to read through Genesis and the rest of the Old Testament we get glimpses of the hope of a saviour who will come. We hear the reminders of the prophets and others that one day Jesus will come and live and die in our place so that we will be saved from an eternal death.

Each year we work through a season of anticipation as we celebrate the birth of Jesus. When we consider the foretelling of the one who will come in Genesis 3:15 we have a guiding light that shines through the rest of scripture. Like the seed planted in the garden we may not always see what is going on around us. Today, we still live in a state of anticipation our forefathers did. Christ, who came once many years ago will return. We must have faith as Paul reminds us in Philippians 1:10 “So that you (we) may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ – to the glory and praise of God.