The Parable of the Growing Seed
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."
Reference: Mark 4:26-29
The Slow Work of Change
A mentor worked with a young group of volunteers who wanted to bring change to a struggling neighborhood, and he encouraged them even when their early efforts seemed small. They planted ideas about service, kindness, and responsibility, but the results were not immediate and sometimes they wondered whether their work mattered. Over time they began to see subtle shifts in the attitudes of the people they served, and small acts of improvement slowly turned into consistent patterns. The mentor reminded them that transformation does not always reveal itself right away, yet progress continues even when no one sees the hidden stages.
Months later the neighborhood experienced real change through increasing cooperation and mutual care, and the volunteers realized that the seeds they planted had taken root long before the visible impact appeared. They learned that growth often happens without recognition and that patience allows unseen processes to flourish. Jesus teaches that God’s work within a life or a community may be invisible at first, but it moves steadily forward. Faith means trusting that something meaningful is happening even when the evidence has not yet surfaced.