Tag: mustard seed

  • The ripple effect of a simple act of love

    Faith in action

    The ripple effect -Concentric ripples spreading across a clear, shallow stream over smooth brown and gray pebbles, with green trees and sky reflected on the water.

    I love to throw stones into water. When I’m sitting beside a body of water, I enjoy tossing a rock in and watching the ripples spread. Sometimes I toss in one rock and then another nearby so I can see how the ripples change when they intersect. It’s fascinating to see how far the effects of a simple action can travel.

    We never know who or where our Christian faith walk and testimony will reach. It could reach people we’ve never met through the ripple effect. I’m reminded of an old shampoo commercial that said, “We told two friends, and they told two friends, and so on, and so on, and so on.”

    A smile. A kind word. An act of forgiveness and love can reach people you might never encounter. That’s why Jesus compared the kingdom to a 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.” He told them another parable. “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened.” Matthew 13:31-33 ESV

    The grain of mustard or a single yeast cell can multiply in ways far beyond what we can imagine. The ripple effect travels farther than we might know and intersects or rebounds in ways we don’t anticipate.

    It’s why we are called to love one another and love our neighbor as ourselves. It’s why the Bible calls us to treat strangers with hospitality. The smallest act of love and obedience might produce a harvest beyond our comprehension.

    It’s a simple truth that we don’t often consider.

    Let’s walk together in obedience, love and compassion. When we do, God is glorified in ways that transcend our simple steps.

    Be blessed

    Kevin

    SUMMARY

    Like a ripple on the water, a small act of love can reach people we may never meet. When we walk together in obedience, love and compassion, God is glorified in ways that transcend our small steps.

    TAKEAWAY

    A smile, a kind word, or an act of forgiveness and love can ripple out to people we might never meet.

    We are called to love our neighbor as ourselves and treat strangers with hospitality. 

    The smallest act of love and obedience might produce a harvest beyond our comprehension.

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  • The Kingdom of God Grows Like Corn in a Field

    A row of tall corn reminds me of the growth of the church

    Our local area is famous for its corn crops. “Chilliwack” corn is highly sought after in stores and farm markets in Western Canada. It seems that as we drive down country roads, almost every farm is either berries or corn.

    Every day the corn gets visibly taller. I wondered how tall corn could grow, so I looked it up. While typical “tall corn” reaches about 8 feet, the world’s record corn reached 45 feet. That is nearly as tall as a four-story building.

    Recently I saw a hummingbird rest briefly on the top of a corn plant. I was surprised, not by the hummingbird, as we see them occasionally, but by its choice of perch.

    The hummingbird on the corn reminded me of a familiar passage of Scripture.

    [Jesus] said therefore, “What is the kingdom of God like? And to what shall I compare it? It is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his garden, and it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air made nests in its branches.” And again he said, “To what shall I compare the kingdom of God? It is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, until it was all leavened.” Luke 13:18-21 ESV

    Of course, the mustard seed analogy was perfectly clear to the original audience. They were an agrarian society and familiar with the crops of the day. Today, most of us don’t grow up watching mustard planted, and many have never baked anything, so they have never seen yeast at work.

    Indeed, the kingdom has grown exponentially here on earth since the day of Jesus. It has grown from very few followers at the start, to thousands joining the church a day after Pentecost, to over 2.5 billion identifying as believers today. That doesn’t include all the people in the interim who were born and died as believers.

    We could question how many of the 2.5 billion are true believers, but even if most are not, the church has exceeded what anyone could have conceived in Jesus’ day.

    Sometimes we feel as if the church is stagnant or perhaps even losing the battle. We wonder where the harvest is or how the church could possibly grow against the culture of the day.

    Yet, day by day, member by member, it continues to grow even if we are not seeing it personally.

    When we get discouraged, we would be wise to remember Christ’s words. 

    “And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” Matthew 16:18 ESV

    Christ has defeated sin and death. The process continues until all whom the Lord has called to be His own are saved, so the battles continue. The victory is already assured.

    Hold fast, my friend. Like a grain of yeast, or a mustard seed, or a kernel of corn, the kingdom is growing soul by soul, moment and day by day. Nothing in all of creation can stop it.

    Through Christ, we have victory. Rejoice and praise His name.

    Kevin

    SUMMARY

    A hummingbird resting on top of our tall Chilliwack corn reminded me of Jesus’ mustard seed parable. It’s a picture of how the kingdom of God keeps growing quietly, soul by soul, even when we can’t see it happening.

    TAKEAWAY

    A hummingbird perching atop a cornstalk sparked a reflection on Jesus’ parables of the mustard seed and the leaven in Luke 13:18-21

    The kingdom of God has grown from a handful of followers to over 2.5 billion believers today, exceeding anything imaginable in Jesus’ time

    Christ’s promise in Matthew 16:18 assures us the church’s growth cannot be stopped, even when it feels stagnant or discouraging

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