Potential

I heard the sound as I walked.
My foot kicked something as I was coming around a curve.
I looked ahead of me and saw something roll down the gentle slope.

An acorn.

I watched it as I walked along.
It just kept rolling ahead of me.
I smiled thinking that it was as if I was playing a catch me if you can game.

The acorn was winning.

Finally, as the slope flattened a bit the acorn stopped rolling.
It came to rest in the middle of the road.
Little good it would do there.

Acorns are too heavy for wind dispersal.
There has to be another way for the seeds to spread.
Inadvertently kicking the acorn to a new location is one way.

Except, I didn’t kick hard enough.
A few feet more and it would have landed on the grass.
Then it would be eventually covered with the leaves that are about to fall in a few weeks.

After a time, germination of the seed inside begins.
A acorn will soon become a mighty oak.
All because of a little kick in just the right spot.

Squirrels gather nuts for the winter.
They have accurate mental maps of their cache locations.
They go back to consume the acorns they have placed there.

Occasionally, a acorn is forgotten.
It is left there in the ground with just the right conditions.
Some acorns start rooting as soon as they are in contact with the soil, usually in the fall.

A mighty oak is contained within the acorn.
The potential is there.
The right conditions and time produce a full-grown tree.

I thought of an unborn baby.
I thought of all the potential inside.
Potential that is divinely placed in that child from the moment of conception.

Potential to learn and grow.
Potential to love and serve.
Potential to know the Creator who is the Designer of mighty oaks.

The right conditions and time will grow that tiny seed into something spectacular for Him.
The potential is there but adverse conditions get in the way.
An acorn usually has only one seed; if lost it is gone forever.

When a large crowd was gathering and people were coming to Jesus from town after town, He told this parable. “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds of the air ate it up. Some fell on rock, and when it came up, the plants withered because they had no moisture. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown…This is the meaning of the parable. The seed is the word of God. Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so they may not believe and be saved. Those on the rock are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away. The seed that fell among the thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way, they are choked by life’s worries, riches, and pleasures, and they do not mature. But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.” (Luke 8:4-8, 11-15)

The right conditions and time produce a full-grown tree.
The potential is contained within that small acorn.
The potential is seemingly hidden until it begins to sprout.

We don’t know which acorns will produce a mighty oak.
One seed under the right conditions will sprout and grow.
The acorn I kicked with my foot landed on the road with no soil, no potential for growth.

No potential for growth unless the acorn was kicked to a new location.
A place on the grass with soil, sunlight, and a leaf covering.
A place where the seed can germinate and the roots can go down deep.

Potential.

We are similar to the acorn.
Under the right conditions, the seed, which is the Word of God, will sprout.
The seed needs good soil.

The good soil of a home church to grow in, thrive in, and be nurtured in.
A leaf covering of love, protection, and accountability.
Preaching and teaching of the Word of God so that the Gospel is known and shared.

How many acorns are on the side of the road?
How many acorns need a little kick to a new location?
How many acorns need the right environment to thrive and a leaf covering to protect?

Only God knows the potential of the ones He has created.
Only God knows the path that each will take so that the growth can happen.
Some seed will fall by the wayside, others eaten by birds, still others choked by thorns.

That is out of our control.
But for the seed on good soil with the right conditions, the potential for growth is there.
The mighty oak is waiting to sprout.

Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on His law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yield its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers. (Psalm 1:1-3)

A tree planted by streams of water.
A mighty oak contained in an acorn.
The potential of new life.

All in God’s Hands.
The possibilities are endless.
Mighty Oaks for His Glory.