Mustard Seed

Mark 4:30-32 reads, “Again he said, ‘What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it? It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds on earth. Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds can perch in its shade.’”

It has always been God’s strategy to change the world through the conspiracy of the insignificant. Through Gideon, God routed a vast army using 300 men carrying lamps and blowing horns. He used an undersized shepherd boy with a slingshot to defeat Goliath. He worked through a baby in a cow stall to save those who believe. In the text from Mark 4 above, Jesus promises that while the kingdom of God might seem infinitesimal in its size, God will use its power to create massive results.

There is a massive spiritual struggle taking place in our world. William Thompson said,

“We are like flies crawling across the ceiling of the Sistine chapel. We cannot see what angels and gods like underneath the threshold of our perceptions.” Paul reminds us that our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the powers of this dark world (Eph. 6:12).

The good news is that the reign of God has already broken into the world, and there’s much more to come! God is creating a new future, where there will be no more hungry children or damaged brains or people suffering from cancer. A future where there will be no more rebellion against the rule of God. A future where He will wipe every tear from our eyes.

Tom Sine calls this future the mustard seed conspiracy. Where God is using microscopic seeds that will grow into vast trees. The kingdom is like yeast, permeating our world. Sine points out that the future comes on a donkey’s back, an executioner’s scaffold, and on a spring morning. When the King of Kings came riding in on a donkey. authorities thought that if they killed the King, they would snuff out the kingdom. But the cross was not the defeat of God, it was the victory of God!

We live between the already and the not yet. We are part of the in-breaking of that new age. This means we are called to a life of service and sacrifice. We are called to join the Holy Spirit in the mustard seed conspiracy, as God leads the charge in establishing His reign over all the earth!