“The kingdom of God – is like a grain of mustard seed – ” Mark 4:30, 31
If we were to write a story about how God in his great and mighty way was going to rescue his special people and destroy all his enemies, our version of the story would never read like the New Testament. We like big and impressive heroes who live larger than life. We like obvious winners. We like decisive victories. And we like the glory that goes with all of that. If we were writing a story about God, it would probably not look or sound like anything from the Bible. It certainly wouldn’t involve planting little, unimpressive mustard seeds. But in the parable of the mustard seed, Jesus is making the point that God’s ways are not our ways. Jesus is teaching us that despite appearances, what He was doing while on earth was going to have a dramatic outcome. From one little Rabbi from Nazareth along with His band of twelve motley men, would come something big enough to change the world forever. Jesus had come to bring the reign of God into the world. And in many ways it did not look very effective or important. But it was how God planned to bring people into His kingdom. Who would have thought that God would arrive as a helpless baby in a manger? Who would have thought that a ragtag group of men would be hand-selected to carry the kingdom of God to the very ends of the earth? Who would have thought that God’s kingdom would include turning the other cheek and loving one’s enemies? Who would have thought that God’s own Son would lead by suffering and dying a shameful death on a cross in order to restore all things–to fight death with death? The answer? No one but God would have done things this way. And yet, through this unimpressive ministry of Jesus, God’s reign has grown into the most powerful kingdom ever–a kingdom where the sins of the sinful are forgiven, mercy is shown to the merciless, and the poor in Spirit are made rich in the undeserved grace of God. The little mustard seed is truly unimpressive at first. And perhaps your faith and our churches are just as unimpressive today. But just as the little mustard seed will grow into a large plant, so will God’s “little” kingdom grow into the all-encompassing rule and reign of God Almighty. With repentance and faith wrought by the Holy Spirit, you have been brought into this kingly reign of Jesus. Your faith and your life may feel as little and insignificant as a tiny mustard seed. But God promises that it will all change in the future. This parable invites you to live with faith and hope until the Day that Christ returns to make all things new. Only on that Last and glorious Day will the fullness of God’s reign be seen. Until then, trust in the seemingly unimpressive works of God in your life: baptism, confession and absolution, the Lord’s Supper, hearing the Word of God through sermons and Bible Studies. These are all signs that the best is yet to come. Prayer: Grant me faith, O Lord, to trust your ways and not my own, until you come again; through Jesus Christ, Amen.
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