“What is the kingdom of God like, and to what shall I compare it? It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and threw into his own garden….” Luke 13:18-19.
Jesus came preaching the kingdom of God. He said it was near. He said it was “at hand”—at your fingertips, as it were. It is so close, you only need to reach out and embrace it. It is for those who are spiritually impoverished, mourning, lowly and humble, hungering for righteousness, merciful, pure in heart, peacemakers, and persecuted. It is for those who are sick, oppressed, physically or emotional wounded or handicapped. It is for you, and for me. When we seek it, anxiety ceases, for all our focus is on the presence of God, and all our needs are met in Him and by Him.
Many of us struggle to experience the fullness of the kingdom experience. Our faith just doesn’t seem to be strong enough. We suffer from a condition Jesus labeled as “littlefaith.” No, it isn’t two words. Jesus coined a compound word to describe the condition that caused His followers to be anxious and worry, to doubt, to fear, and even to be spiritually dense (lack understanding). Littlefaith inhibits faith. We settle for littlefaith, thinking it is either sufficient, or that it is all we are capable of achieving. Littlefaith is not just “a little bit of faith” or “small faith.” We start with what we have, and that may not be much.
What is important is not how much faith we have, but in Whom we place our faith. However, if we become contented with just a little faith—or more often, if we become convinced that’s all we can experience because life has beaten us down and we simply accept our poverty, our humiliation, our spiritual starvation, etc.—then we will never fully know the blessing of the kingdom of heaven in this life. What is the kingdom of God like? It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and threw into his own garden and it grew and became a tree.
So, when you see “mustard seed” in the Bible, don’t just think small. Think growing! When Jesus challenged His disciples for their “littlefaithness” in Matthew 17:20, He told them if they had faith like a mustard seed they could move mountains. He wasn’t saying “the size of a mustard seed.” They were settling for “littlefaith.” They needed a growing faith.
Jesus said unless a seed falls into the ground and dies, it abides alone, but if it dies it brings forth much fruit. Go to any Christian bookstore and you can find mustard seed jewelry—a mustard seed encased in clear acrylic and hung on a necklace, earrings, or a bracelet. It is a good reminder that you don’t need a lot of faith. You can begin with the faith you have and trust a big and faithful God. However, that seed, encased in acrylic, is never going to grow. It is lifeless. It will never be cast into your garden and grow and become a tree. So, how does a seed die and bring forth much fruit? It yields itself to the growth process. It ceases to be a seed in order to become a fruit-bearing plant.
Living things grow. Living faith grows. Littlefaith is like the mustard seed encased in acrylic. It’s a nice ornament, but it doesn’t win over anxiety, fear and doubt. Growing faith, like a mustard seed that is planted, is living and vital. It branches out. It gets bigger and accomplishes more and more. When we yield to the hand of the Father in the process of growth we enter into kingdom living. It is taking up your cross daily. It is dying to seedness, breaking out of your hull, letting your roots go deep in the soil of His love (Ephesians 3:17) and reach ever upward, seeking Him, His presence and His kingdom!
