Small Faith to Large
It is like a mustard seed, which when sown on the ground is one of the smallest of all the seeds planted in the ground. Yet when it is planted, it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and puts out large branches so that the birds of the sky can nest under its shade.” (Mark 4:31–32)
As Jesus taught the crowds about the kingdom of God, he taught them by using parables. In Mark 4, Jesus compared the kingdom of God to planting plants. This was something that his listeners would have been familiar with.
Jesus started this chapter by saying that the kingdom of God is like scattering seed in a field. The seed is the Word of God. As the seed is scattered on many different types of soil and grows differently, so the Word of God is received in different ways by different people.
Jesus continued to illustrate that the kingdom of God grows on its own, just as a plant does. Last, he compared the kingdom of God to a mustard plant. Even though it starts out small, it grows larger than all the other garden plants.
Our faith starts out so small. Paul calls it “craving spiritual milk.” When we are new to our faith, the only thing we may know is the law and the gospel: All have sinned and fall short but are saved through faith in Christ alone. But as we grow in faith, we learn more about who God is and we gain more knowledge of God’s plan for our salvation and our faith grows. And our faith is always growing. As our faith grows, we also share that faith and God’s kingdom continues to grow in that way as well. And through it all, we take refuge in Jesus, who is our shelter from our enemies. Amen.
The song for today is “The Garden” by Kari Jobe