And he said, So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground; And should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how. For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear. But when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come. And he said, Whereunto shall we liken the kingdom of God? or with what comparison shall we compare it? It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when it is sown in the earth, is less than all the seeds that be in the earth: But when it is sown, it groweth up, and becometh greater than all herbs, and shooteth out great branches; so that the fowls of the air may lodge under the shadow of it. Mark 4:26-32
Just like the statement “every thing I need to know I learned in kindergarten”, every thing we need to know about God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit can be found in His kindergarten. The Book of Hebrews calls this the first, or elementary, principles of Christ. It is rather like the ABC’s and 1-2-3 of our childhood education. There are really only a few basic principles that lay the foundation for the rest of our education. Phonics, addition, subtraction, multiplication… Once a person masters these principles, they gain the ability to read, comprehend and calculate formulas all on their own. As time goes by the mind continues to mature and is able to ponder deeper thoughts and learn new things but it is really just the basic principles learned when very young that allow this to be.
Learning the things of God is exactly the same. When we come to understand a few basic principles about God and his mercy and truth, these principles form the foundation of our life and we are on the Way. Hebrews gives a pretty good list of these things; Repentance, Faith, Baptisms, etc; and it is these things, when understood and mastered that lay a foundation for everything else God wants to show us. It does not take a lifetime to learn these things.
Christ said the Kingdom of God is like seeds. Try this experiment. Dig a six-foot hole, now throw in a handful of seeds, any kind you like. If you want, you can even throw in a bunch of fertilizer as well. Now refill that hole with the same six feet of earth, give it a good tamping with your foot or shovel, and water it whenever you like. Be patient for a few months then come back to see how many plants actually grew. I assure you there will be none.
The knowledge of the kingdom of God is the same; it is never buried deep. Plants draw life from topsoil and if you dig beyond the topsoil, you dig beyond the nutrients that give them life. The seeds may be hearty and the sprouts may begin to push their way to the surface but having been buried so deep, away from the sun that warms them and provides energy, they simply will not grow and reach the surface. So it is with us.
Solomon, a very wise man–perhaps even the wisest ever–spent many vain years digging deep, searching for God in all the wrong places. He wrote the book of Ecclesiastes to document his experience and he finally concluded. “Of making many books there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh. Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.” I can find no other words that express my thoughts better than that.
Note: Some, in the past have tried to correct my analogy and say we must dig deep in order to lay a firm foundation. They are absolutely 100% right. But my analogy here was about a different topic. Establishing your foundation on “The Rock” is essential for your house and your salvation. However, planting a harvest for the purpose of daily bread does not require a great deal of digging. I know of no sane gardener who plants their garden under their house or in a deep pit of earth. I have done that kind of digging before and, just like Solomon, I ended up in a great big hole, trying to explain how I dug myself into such a pit and gave myself a headache trying to climb back out. It is not worth it. I am finite and need not fully comprehend my infinite God to serve him. Just give me a bit of daily bread and I am well fed and happy. I gave up my shovel for a hoe years ago.
