Mark 4:28–29

And at the time appointed Jesus will return with shouts of peace, peace to His people on earth!

We serve a risen Savior who desires everyone accept God’s  gift of salvation.

Jesus' coming suffering had a purpose: eventual victory over sin and death. The only way for Jesus to complete His earthly mission was to take the burden of the world's sin, enduring agony unlike what any person has ever experienced. Through Jesus' obedient submission to the Father's will no matter the cost, we were given a perfect example of how to trust God's plan even when life seems out of control.

The first man, Adam, succumbed to temptation in the garden of Eden, bringing the consequences and slavery of sin onto humanity. The second Adam, Jesus, submitted Himself to the Father's will in the garden of Gethsemane, offering eternal life to the world (1 Corinthians 15:45-49). He drank the cup of wrath meant for us and replaced it with His grace. 

No one understands our suffering like Jesus does, and we can trust Him to use what's meant for evil for our ultimate good (Genesis 50:20). There is no sorrow that can't be placed at His feet, no chaos that can't be calmed by His presence, no trouble that He can't transform into joy. Hallelujah! 

He is the "friend who sticks closer than a brother" (Proverbs 18:24), and the perfect example of how we are to love others. Jesus is the friend worth giving up everything for because He first gave up everything for us. What a friend we have in Jesus! First5 

God chose to come among us as a vulnerable child, so he could speak more clearly to our own hearts where we are most vulnerable. That child is speaking God’s truth… The stable is the sign of God’s desire to be born in the stables of our own hearts, not into our inn-like self-sufficiency, nor into our quest for palace-like opulence and power. In making his entrance through the mire of a stable, God showed us that flesh and blood, dirt, sweat, and tears, fear and shattered dreams, are good enough for him. That is where he will start.” SabbathMoments 

Mark 4:28–29

28 For the earth yields crops by itself: first the blade, then the head, after that the full grain in the head. 29 But when the grain ripens, immediately he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.” The New King James Version

Plants develop in a complex, intricate process that humans still do not fully understand even two thousand years after Jesus spoke these words. Yet plants grow and bear fruit and seeds just the same. God’s kingdom likewise is growing, although we do not understand all that is happening. This parable, which appears only in Mark’s Gospel, presents God’s kingdom in brief, from first sowing to final reaping. The NKJV Study Bible

This parable of the good seed, shows the manner in which the kingdom of God makes progress in the world. Let but the word of Christ have the place it ought to have in a soul, and it will show itself in a good conversation. It grows gradually: first the blade; then the ear; after that the full corn in the ear. When it is sprung up, it will go forward. The work of grace in the soul is, at first, but the day of small things; yet it has mighty products even now, while it is in its growth; but what will there be when it is perfected in heaven! Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

Joel 3:13 

Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe.

Come, go down;

For the winepress is full,

The vats overflow—For their wickedness is great.”

Mark 13:30 Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place.

Revelation 14:15 And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to Him who sat on the cloud, “Thrust in Your sickle and reap, for the time has come for You to reap, for the harvest of the earth is ripe.”