Born to Sow: How God Grows His Kingdom Through Spiritual Reproduction
- Jack Selcher
- Sep 19, 2025
- 3 min read
Updated: 5 days ago
Summary
God designed all life to reproduce, and Christianity grows through spiritual reproduction, not human persuasion alone. Believers are born again by the imperishable seed of God’s Word and are called to sow that same seed in others’ lives. Christians plant and water through loving words and actions, but God gives the growth. Like a seed that dies to multiply, believers fulfill their purpose by surrendering self-centered priorities to spread God’s life.
An Illustration from an Invasive Species
My grandson and I killed about 2,000 of them in 2022. No, not minutes playing video games—spotted lanternflies.
They were first discovered in the USA in 2014 in Berks County, Pennsylvania. Scientists think their eggs (the original “seeds”) were on some object imported from Asia.
God’s Design for Reproduction
By the end of 2022, lanternfly infestations had spread to forty-five counties in Pennsylvania and many other states.1 The lanternfly’s territorial expansion illustrates that God designed all life forms to reproduce after their kind.
How Christianity Grows Differently
How Christians reproduce after their kind is unique. Members of other religions can add followers directly to their ranks by convincing them to join.
Born Again by God’s Imperishable Seed
Christians cannot. Christians are born again of the Spirit of God (John 3:6). It is supernatural.
Christianity cannot grow by human invitation alone. It is a divine-human cooperative effort. Christians invite others to follow Jesus, but God alone gives those others the desire to do so (Ephesians 2:8-9).
Jesus: The Original Seed and Sower
Because of how Christianity grows, Christians must sow God’s word to produce the next generation of believers in Jesus. Jesus is the original Seed (Galatians 3:19) and Sower (Matthew 13:37).
The seed is the word of God. “For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God” (1 Peter 1:23 NIV). That living and enduring word creates spiritual life and remains in believers (1 John 3:9).
Born to Sow and Water, with God Giving the Growth
Jesus brought the original seed of the gospel (God’s word) to earth. He subsequently uses believers in the sowing process as they spread to others the same imperishable seed that gave them life (1 Peter 1:23).
Their loving words and actions provide favorable environmental conditions to prepare the spiritual soil of non-Christians. When they sow the seed, some of it sprouts and grows in people’s hearts, but they do not know how (Mark 4:27).
They plant seeds. They water them. But God makes them grow (1 Corinthians 3:6).
Dying to Self to Multiply Life
God uses believers and their resources to spread His life in this world (2 Corinthians 9:10). They die to their self-centered priorities to do it.
Thereby, they follow Jesus’ example. “Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life” (John 12:24-25 NIV).
Believers’ Purpose in God’s Ongoing Harvest
The seed finds its purpose by losing its identity to produce something bigger, grander, and greater. That bigger, grander, and greater something eventually produces more seeds to continue the process. Believers are born to sow. See additional free spiritual growth resources for Christians.
God has empowered me to write His Power for Your Weakness—260 Steps Toward Spiritual Strength. It’s a free, evangelistic, devotional, and discipleship e-book. Pastors have used it in Malawi, Mozambique, and Zambia to lead 7,590 people to Christ and teach the basics of Christianity to 17,681 people. I invite you to explore and use it in your setting.
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