Daily Devotions

So what is the nature of this kingdom we find in the New Testament? We get our answer in the words of Jesus, when he said, “What is the kingdom of God like? And to what should I compare it? It is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in the garden; it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air made nests in its branches.” And again he said, “To what should I compare the kingdom of God? It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened.”

To the crowds who expected the kingdom of God to come with fanfare and drum-beat, Jesus offers two wonderful images of organic growth. The mustard seed grows slowly, but as a tree it has room for all sorts of birds in its branches. Now as in its first centuries, the church has room for all races, colours and cultures. We are not clones but hugely diverse.

Another image of the kingdom: yeast in the dough, working for good even when unseen. Yeast is a less attractive image than spreading trees or a light on a hilltop. If there is anything of the exhibitionist in us, this image will discover it. Lord, I feel safer as yeast, working invisibly and unnoticed. I do not look to see results, just to know that I am an active part of your kingdom.

‘The God of small things' is the title of a popular Indian work of literature. God is the God of the mustard seeds. Not alone do we grow from small beginnings of faith, but we also grow in faith and love through the small and ordinary experiences of life. God, creator of heavens and earth, is interested in the things of our lives which loom large for us but may seem trivial to others - our aches and pains, our hurts and griefs, our daily work and all that goes to make up our lives.

Father, too often we believe only what our eyes see, and we get discouraged. Forgive our faint hearts. Help us to be filled with your hope and your vision for your Kingdom. Expand our seeing, mushroom our understanding. Help us to see the Kingdom of God as Jesus sees it. In his holy name, we pray. Amen.