I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. So neither the one who plants not the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. 1 Corinthians 3:6-7 (NIV)
While known as the Irish daisy, it’s most popular name is the dandelion. Have you every wondered how the dandelion got its name? The coarsely-toothed leaves of the common dandelion have been said to resemble a lion’s teeth. In French, this is roughly translated as ‘dent de lion’, a term which we have corrupted to create the moniker we know today. It’s scientific name Taraxacum originates from the Greek words taraxos, meaning ‘disorder’, and akos, meaning ‘remedy’. It’s species name, officinale, derives from the Latin officinalis, which roughly translates as ‘of pharmaceutical value’. The French word for dandelion is pissenlit, which translates ‘to pee the bed’. Dandelions are indeed a good diuretic and in fact that they are as strong as some of the commercial products. Up until 1800s people would pull grass out of their lawns to make room for dandelions because they knew that every part of the dandelion was useful: root, leaves, flower. It can be used for food, medicine and dye for colouring.
If you’ve ever lived in an area in which the dandelion grows, it’s likely that you’ve cusped a dandelion in your hand and blown the dried seeds of the flower into orbit. Once dandelions turn from their vibrant golden yellow colour to an intricate which globe of geometric genius and gossamer delicacy, they can be blown, dispersing the seeds into the air like tiny parachutes. When each seed blows through the air, it eventually lands somewhere, where it will likely form a new dandelion plant. I’m told that a flower head can produce up to four hundred seeds but the average is 180. A plant may have a total of two thousand to twelve thousand seeds in its lifetime. The seeds are often carried as many as five miles from their origin.
Jesus tells us in Luke 8 that the seed is the Word of God and our responsibility is to be a sower of that seed and scatter the seed bountifully. Let us spread the good news of God’s love to everyone and trust Him for the growth.