Read
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
Reflect
Since the time of Christ, the earthly odds have been against Christians. We have a message that requires faith to believe, and the world likes things that are packaged neatly and wrapped up with a bow on top. That just isn’t Christianity.
We follow a God we can’t see, who sent a Son to die a brutal death in order to take the place of others. We’re commanded to love others in spite of how they might feel about us. And we’re commanded even further to put the needs of other people always ahead of our own. Simply put, this is a message that doesn’t compute for a world that’s bent on dealing with things it can see and touch, and that mainly focuses on “me first.”
It’s that world that Christ commanded us to preach His message, and sometimes it probably seems like we have an impossibly huge task ahead of us. After all, how could my little faith possible make a difference in a hostile world? Jesus says that each of us with our tiny faith can make a huge difference.
A mustard seed is only slightly bigger than a grain of sand. Yet that one seed really can grow into a tree. And a small bit of yeast (like a teaspoon or two) is all it takes to make pounds of flour rise into a fluffy loaf of bread. Using these tiny items, Jesus reminds us that even a little bit of faith can go a long way. Your Christian story can change the lives of a lot of people, but only if you tell it.
This week, pray that the Lord will help you have the courage to share your story with others and that He will bring people into your path so that you may tell them about Him. All Christians have a wonderful story to tell, but we can’t keep it to ourselves. Open up and let the Lord show you the amazing things He can do with little old you.
Reflection copyright © 2020 Doug DeBolt
Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
