God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food.” –Genesis 1:28
Dear members & friends,
In a way, Genesis 1:28 has been interpreted as God instructing us all to be vegetarians by ordering us to eat plants and fruits. Personally, I do not oppose such interpretation, because I do agree that it is not only possible to take all necessary nutrients from vegetation and fruits, but also preferable for our health. However, we would need to look more closely into the actual words of Genesis 1:28 in order to understand its spiritual meaning. God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it.” Of note is that God has pointed us toward food that is not just the green plant, but seed-bearing plants; not fruits, but the “tree that has fruit with seed in it.” You might have noticed that a certain phrase is repeated here: seed-bearing.
Remember that on the third day of creation God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it.” A seed-bearing plant is one that has the capacity to reproduce itself. And, as was pointed out by Jesus in Matthew 13:8, “Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.” And, later Jesus explained this parable to the disciples, “But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown (Matthew 12:23).”
Putting them together, the food that is given to humans by God symbolizes all knowledge that contains the spiritual truth within it. Spiritual truth or insight only becomes ours when we properly understand it; in other words, when we eat and digest it. And, once a spiritual truth has become a part of us, then our mind would be able to spread what has nurtured us to others. If we were all working on spreading and sharing spiritual insights and truths, the world would become a much better place to live.
Blessings, Rev. Junchol Lee