Another feature of the “kingdom of God” is its being like seed that grows without the planter’s contributing toward the growth or knowing just how it comes to sprout and flourish. Day after day, while the man who planted the seed sleeps and then rises in the morning to engage in the day’s activity, the ground of itself (or without his intervention) produces the stalk and then the ear. Once the grain is ripe, he harvests it with his sickle. (Mark 4:26-29)

As the message about the opportunity to become part of God’s realm spread through the activity of Jesus and later of his disciples, observable results were produced. An increasing number of responsive ones entered the realm where God is recognized as Sovereign, and significant changes occurred in their lives. The manner in which these positive results came about, like the sprouting and growing of a plant from a seed, remained hidden from human view. God makes growth possible, and this explains why, with the passage of time, genuine believers come to be more and more like Jesus Christ and his Father. (Compare 1 Corinthians 3:6, 7.) At the time of the “harvest,” all who are genuine believers will be revealed as approved and desirable from God’s standpoint, just like mature grain is identified as suitable for humans.