She Laughs Without Fear
  • Blog
  • Series
  • Links
  • About
  • Connect

Like A Grain Of Mustard Seed

10/10/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture
They say that the sun never sets on the British Empire. It's the largest empire that the world has ever known, and it covered 13.71 million square miles of land at its height in 1920. There's a reason they said that the sun never set on the empire; there was so much land under the empire's dominion that the sun would set in one territory and rise in another. However, the British Empire's dominion in some areas did not last forever. The United States of America is an example. While the British Empire is still the largest Empire the world has ever known, it is not a kingdom that will last into eternity. 

However, it is an earthly shadow of a kingdom that will endure forever. We've been focusing on this kingdom for the past week, and I'm learning more about the kingdom while writing about it. One day, God's kingdom will have a far greater reach and dominion that the British Empire, but it started very small. 

Jesus spent time teaching the disciples about the kingdom of God with parables. In one such parable, he compares the kingdom to a grain of mustard seed:
He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of 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 larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.”
Matthew 13:31-32

There is something so beautiful about the image of a tiny mustard seed, the smallest of all seeds, being planted and eventually growing to be larger than all the garden plants. This little seed, that looks tiny and weak, actually grows into something far greater. Jesus uses this seed very intentionally to make a comparison to God's Kingdom. 

The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed; it began small with Jesus and the disciples, and then it grew larger, and one day it will grow larger than all of the garden plants (kingdoms). Just like the birds in the tree, many people will come and find refuge in the kingdom. 

The kingdom starts off with humble beginnings and then will grow to a worldwide size, which many will find shelter in. 

At the same time, there's something that most people don't know about mustard trees. Pliny the Elder writes about it in his Natural History, which was published around 78 AD:
 
"Mustard…is extremely beneficial for the health. It grows entirely wild, though it is improved by being transplanted: but on the other hand when it has once been sown it is scarcely possible to get the place free of it, as the seed when it falls germinates at once."

​Mustard grows like a weed. When the seed falls, it germinates and grows at once. Once a mustard tree is fully grown, it is nearly impossible to get rid of it, and it continues releasing seeds that germinate. To the average gardener, the mustard tree is a pesky plant whose growth, once begun, is near impossible to stop. 

How true is that of the kingdom of God? When a gospel seed is sown in a person's heart, the seed begins to grow. Something so small, a little seed of faith, grows into a large rooted tree that spreads other seeds, which germinate and grow. It spreads and grows quickly. As well, It becomes a shelter to some and obnoxious to those that try to root it out. But there is no stopping the growth of the mustard seed, just like there is no way to stop the growth of the kingdom of God in the hearts of people. 

God's kingdom is like a mustard seed, and one day it will grow to be the largest kingdom that the world has ever known. 

Picture
This post is part of a 31 day series called Seeking the Kingdom.
​You can view the rest of the posts from the series here. 
Picture
Note: The Amazon link to Natural History above is an affiliate link. If you click on the link and purchase this book, this blog is supported at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting She Laughs Without Fear!
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture

    Archives

    March 2023
    July 2022
    May 2022
    December 2021
    September 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014

    RSS Feed

    Copyright © 2014 - 2023
    She Laughs Without Fear 
© COPYRIGHT 2023. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
  • Blog
  • Series
  • Links
  • About
  • Connect