“He put a parable before them, saying, “ The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of a mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is the largest of all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make its nest in its branches.” - Matthew 13:31-32
“He said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.” - Matthew 17:20
I don’t know about you, but growing up in the church I would always hear, “Have faith like a mustard seed!” What does that really mean? On the surface level I would think that the phrase just meant that I should have faith that is powerful even though I am small. To be honest this never really made much sense to me and I just rolled with it never truly grasping what it meant. About a year ago I read something on this topic that blew me away. I love reading through pieces of scripture I was taught when I was young and learning the meaning behind what I knew as head knowledge, and translating it into heart knowledge. So please, let me share that excitement with you!
Throughout the Old Testament, there were many laws given to the people by God as a part of the covenant he had with the people of Israel. Some of these laws included directions on how to care for a garden or crops. One old tip about gardening that the Israelites probably were well aware of was to keep mustard seed out of the garden because it grew quickly and would overtake the garden before you knew it. In Matthew 13, we see that Jesus compared the kingdom of heaven to a mustard seed. Meaning the kingdom of heaven once planted, it to grow and overtake the world. I mean let's look at the persecution of the church by Saul. No matter how hard he tried to pull up the seemingly threatening weed, the faster it spread. Having faith like a mustard seed. Jesus was saying that it only takes a small amount of faith to move mountains. If we have faith that is small enough to move mountains, imagine what we can do when we take that true faith and share it with others. That faith grows and grows, spreading like mustard seed until it reaches the ends of the Earth.
Now let's take a closer look at mustard seeds. We already went over that they are small but grow rapidly, overtaking anything in their path, but there is SO much more. Mustard seeds were known for their healing qualities. Mustard seed would have to be crushed in order to release their potent smell. Meaning that in this parable Jesus flipped the picture of earthly power, his power was not crushing but it was through being crushed that it was released. On the cross he was separated from God for a time, but through that crushing of sin and of death his power was released to overcome both sin and death for all those that would believe in him. The kingdom of God truly is a mustard seed. It is a kingdom that grows rapidly once planted, overtaking all that lies in its path, and through the cross its power of forgiveness and of love was released out into the world for all those who chose to receive it and believe in him. I know when I first heard this analogy and understood some of what it was talking about I was in adoration of Jesus. He laid down his life for us, paying the price of sin with our name in mind, with your name in mind. How often do we remind ourselves of this simple yet so life changing fact. This is truly the best news that we could ever hear. I would encourage you to walk through the gospel today, remind yourself of the story that transformed your life and think of ways to act on it. We are called to be obedient to the call that the Lord has given us, and that is to share this hope. It is not on us to make others believe in the Lord, but we are to share, and the Holy Spirit will take over from there. Imagine not knowing this truth, and how life giving it would be if someone shared this with you! Truly transforming. Truly powerful. The kingdom of heaven is our hope, our freedom, and our purpose. Lets not keep that to ourselves!
Thanks for taking the time out of your day to read this, I really wasn't sure what to share with y'all today but this is where I was led. I hope that this spoke to you in some sort of way or just served as a reminder of what hope is found in the gospel. Drew and I have been thinking through ways to involve you all in gathering the girls, and we are expectant and excited for what is to come. So thank you for being here, truly. We hope that this page only serves as an encouragement to your faith! Blessings, Jules.
Comments