A Word from Matthew 13

I could be wrong about this. But I’ve got a hunch that just about all of us have at least a couple things going on in our lives that we’d like to change. Maybe we’d like to be more physically active or to choose a healthier diet. Maybe we’d like to save some money or complete some project at work or around the house. In light of our recent spiritual emphasis about “Practicing the Way,” we might even want to find some ways that we can more consistently be with Jesus, so that we can be like Jesus, and can do the things that he did!

But quite often, goals like these can seem so daunting that we find it hard to begin. And that’s why today’s word from Matthew 13 offers both direction and hope. In these verses, Jesus is teaching about the kingdom of God, which is a project so vast that we’re not always sure how to proceed. And yet, Jesus reminds us that with the kingdom—and I suspect with some other projects, too—“Small things done with great love will  change the world.” Here’s how Jesus puts it…

 “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. 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.” And in a similar way, “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about sixty pounds of flour until it worked all through the dough.” (Mt. 13:31-33)

So today, what’s the goal toward which God is calling you? And what’s one small step that you can take toward that goal?

Let’s trust that God is still able to take our mustard-seed acts of faith and grow them in ways that produce His blessing. Amen.