McBrockster retreat

He also said, "This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come."
Again he said, "What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it? It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest seed you plant in the ground. Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds of the air can perch in its shade." mark 4.26-32

it has been a few days since we have returned from the retreat and for the first time this week, i do not have meetings all afternoon so i thought i would update the old blog.
this weekend was a great experience, especially for a first time event partnering with students from the inter-varsity group at brock university. we packed out the camp, had great food, and were challenged by two parables about the Kingdom of God from the gospel of Mark. the part which stood out to me so greatly was the phrase "though he does not know how." in my experience, it has become painfully obvious that i do not know how the Kingdom moves forward. sometimes this is reassuring because then the responsibility to make it grow does not lie on me. other times, however, there are places i want to see it grow but can't do a darn thing about it.

i have enjoyed over the past few days, connecting with students as they wrestle with this concept that despite their best efforts, Kingdom growth outside of themselves is not in their control. participating with God in it requires great patience and trust and when we see the growth happen we can experience the joy of the seeds becoming ripe.