On day the weather was terrible by the ocean! There was a thick fog, and the air was cold, no one would come to the ocean on a day like this! Gus wondered what he should do, no one would come and buy food from him today. Just then his phone rang, and it was a number that he did not recognize. The woman on the phone told Gus that she owned a large farm where she raised vegetables,
sunflower seeds,
and some wheat. She had hired many workers to pick vegetables and they worked hard all day. Today she wanted to give them a special treat for lunch, she wanted Gus to bring his food bus to her farm so that he could make food for all her workers.
All her workers liked grilled cheese sandwiches, french fries and tacos,
and they all needed a roll of duct tape! She would pay for all of it for her workers that day!
Gus did not waste any time, he mapped out the route on his phone, fired up the food bus, and away he went!
When he got to the farm, the woman told Gus to park the food bus by the sunflower and wheat fields because the sunflower seed, and wheat were not being harvested that day. Gus got busy and began cooking food! The workers came on their morning break and ate food, they came at noon and ate food, and they came during their afternoon break and ate food! Gus had never been so busy! By the end of the day Gus had cooked all the food that he had on the bus and handed out all the duct tape that he had! The woman cheerfully paid for all of it! Gus felt very happy, and he also felt very hungry! He had worked all day without taking time to eat, and he had not saved any food for himself! As Gus was driving back toward the ocean, he stopped at the first fast food place he found and had something to eat!
Gus remembered that Jesus had said something about wheat seeds in the Bible, so while Gus was eating his food, he got out his Bible and looked it up. Gus was surprised that this was not a parable, it was just one verse.
In John 12:24 Jesus says:
“I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat is planted in the soil and dies, it remains alone. But its death will produce many new kernels – a plentiful harvest of new lives.”
Gus thought about that verse!
A wheat seed could be used for many things: wheat is used in many types of human food, wheat can be eaten by horses, wheat can used for decorating during the fall season, or wheat seeds can be planted.
Sunflower seeds can also be used for many things: birds eat sunflower seed, humans eat sunflower seeds, sunflower seed oil is used in other food products, sunflower seeds can be used in craft projects, or sunflower seeds can be planted.
If a wheat or sunflower seed is used for food, decorating, or crafts, it is used up and that is the end of it. But if the seed is buried in the dirt, it dies but ends up producing many more seeds just like itself.
Gus understood that Jesus was not talking just about seeds, He was talking about Himself! Jesus did many good things while He was on earth; He taught people, he did miracles, he even raised a few people from the dead, but His purpose in coming to earth as a human (but still also God) was to die for our sins! Just like a seed that is buried in the ground produces many more seeds; Jesus’ death on the cross produces the way for many people to forgiven, become a friend of God, and have eternal life with God!
Gus wrote in the Gus-Bus Eternal Journal:
Today I learned about seeds. The most important thing that Jesus did was to die for our sins, so that many could experience forgiveness and have a relationship with God! I need to imitate Jesus and live my life in such a way that I point many others to Jesus so that they can be forgiven too and know that they have eternal life. I do not want waste my life living any other way! God help me to live for you and thank you for sending Jesus to die and rise from the dead so that many could come to know You!