Nov. 3, Parable of the Mustard Seed, Matthew 13:31-32
This parable and the next, the Leaven (13:33), both focus on the growth of the Kingdom of God. The Mustard Seed emphasizes the small beginnings of the Kingdom to its great and final completion. The Leaven, tomorrow’s parable, points out the unseen but thoroughness of that growth.
Jesus told the disciples, if they had faith the size of mustard seed, they could move mountains. Small seemingly insignificant acts done in faith in the Lord’s name can accomplish great things. This past week in Lesson 5 from our 40 Days of Outreach Small Group Study, Mother Teresa was quoted, “small things done with great love will change the world.”
Small things from saying your prayers, helping a stranger, or giving that extra moment to listen to the needs of another may be used by God to transform someone’s life—maybe even your own. One of the smallest things I can think of is how the early church began. Jesus, the all-powerful Son of God resurrected from the dead, entrusted the Kingdom of God on earth to a cowardly, uneducated, misfit, impulsive band of followers. What a risk God was taking. Yet, this group of followers transformed the world, and God continues to transforms lives through us today.
31He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. 32Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches.”—Matt. 13:31-32
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