The Story We Find Ourselves In: The Mustard Seed

We’ve all experienced a situation where something very little took on a life of its own, becoming so much bigger than it actually was. It could be the first workout that leads to a fitness competition, the first date that leads to a lifetime of marriage, the first pain that turns into a life-changing diagnosis, or the first argument that ends a friendship.

Our spiritual life is like this, too.

Matthew 13

31 He told them another parable: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. 32 Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches.”

The main character in this parable is the Kingdom of Heaven. Now, Jesus never clearly defines the Kingdom of Heaven but leaves us breadcrumbs here and there to get an idea of what it is. So, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed, a merchant, and a treasure.

Jesus would often say that the Kingdom has come near in His presence, and the things He would point out were incredible. So, the Kingdom is when reality itself gets unbent, back to how it was meant to be. The Kingdom of Heaven is when people, places, and systems are restored, renewed, or resurrected to God’s original plan for them.

We were always meant to be healthy, so our bodies are just returning to what they were always meant to be. He's helping restore us to the generosity, kindness, and goodness we were always meant to be.

Those are the seeds that get planted, and where do we find ourselves? We're the ones who get to plant the seeds – an incredible responsibility. And when you plant a seed, you don't see results immediately or even a little quickly, and you need to work to see real change. You have to water and fertilize – it's like you're setting the table for God to do something.

And sometimes, despite your best efforts, things don't grow. You could do everything right and check all the boxes, but for whatever reason, nothing happens. For example, a pastor's sermon can be a compelling message that rings true for most people. It can be given in front of ten or ten thousand people. But only a few people listening to the same sermon will enact change because of it. But all it takes is one. And that's the seed that God used the pastor to grow that day. Not all the seeds, just that one.

But what do we do when it feels like nothing happens? Let’s break down the mustard seed analogy. A mustard seed is actually a weed – a useless, annoying plant that people were discouraged from ever planting. And the thing that annoys us so much about weeds is how resilient they are. We rip them up, roots and all, and they still seem to always come back.

When things seem dead and gone, the Christian message here is that there is always hope. They tried to kill Jesus and succeeded, but 3 days later, He returned because the Kingdom of God is so resilient that even death can't stop it.

We need to find moments throughout the rest of our lives to plant seeds and remember that it’s more about what He does than what we do. And that’s the story we find ourselves in.

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