Today’s Scripture Reading
Mark 4:30-32
“And He said, ‘How shall we picture the kingdom of God, or by what parable shall we present it? It is like a mustard seed which, when sown upon the soil, though it is smaller than all the seeds that are upon the soil, yet when it is sown, it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and forms large branches, so that the birds of the air can nest under its shade.”
Jesus presents a profound and rich parable that really calls us to contemplate His kingdom. How do we describe it? What is it like? It’s another example of the so-called “upside down“ kingdom and its priorities that are represented throughout the gospels. When we think in worldly terms of kingdoms, we think of great numbers to begin with instead of small numbers. We think of large powerful armies and governments and immense populations of people. We think of generals and kings riding in on great stallions and magnificent chariots instead of a humble carpenter from Nazareth making an entrance on a small donkey. But in God‘s kingdom, He shows the importance of a small yet powerful spark. The small mustard seed could represent a small act of obedience by one or a few persons. It could even begin with a simple word of encouragement or hug of compassion.
This is a theme we have seen repeated by the power of His grace in this adventure called Faith In Practice. We look back over 30 years and see Joe and Vera Wiatt answering the call on their hearts to travel to Guatemala.
The mission started with one small team of 11 that over the years grew into over 27,000 patients being served annually and 40+ teams sent in the power of God‘s sovereignty to minister to the underserved people of Guatemala . It’s one of my favorite “mustard seed“ stories. It also reminds us that God doesn’t expect us to produce great numbers, but to start with a simple act of obedience, one day at a time, one person at a time, and remembering that we are called in Faith, being empowered by the grace of God.
Ephesians 2:8-10
Dr. Mark Woolf
