I’m quite obsessed with mustard seeds at the moment. I have been reading on them, studying them for over a week and how they relate to my faith and the kingdom of God. They are mentioned five times in the Bible regarding those subjects and I was just intrigued as I have continued reading in Mark 4.
In each time that Jesus mentions faith and a mustard seed, He talks about only needing that “size” of faith. Well, of course that seems quite ineffective to the Christian in daily life because we equate size to power. That’s how our finite minds work most days. We can’t see past the nose on our face in the physical world to see God working in the spirit world on our behalf.
As I was studying and reading in Mark 4, He uses a parable to relate the kingdom of God to a mustard seed. Now, this just can’t be right! The Kingdom of God is huge. It’s powerful. It’s not a mustard seed! Well, let’s just hold our horses for a second and look st that mustard seed. It packs quite a punch!
Three things I liked about the mustard seed that were intriguing:
- It germinates quickly. It can be a mature plant/shrub that grows and spread extremely fast and tall. In the right soil, up to 10 feet in some cases! Even more so, if you don’t harvest the seeds of the mustard when they are ready, they will fall to the ground and spread everywhere. It will become a plant that is hard to control or contain!
- Secondly, the seed has so many uses. You can make the tasty mustard we use as a condiment, eat the leaves (mustard greens) and use it for fuel! The whole plant is used…nothing goes to waste on it…it has functions for every part of the growth!
- Scientists cannot make a hybrid mustard seed. Meaning taking two plants of the same species (family) and combining them to yield another variety. They have managed to make a GMO version that yields more oil in India in recent years. The mustard seed cannot be hybridized because it is very unique.
Now, I couldn’t help but see the comparison to faith and the Kingdom of God in these three areas! When just a little bit of faith is supplied in your life, it germinates rapidly. It spreads and is contagious! It’s not really so much about the quantity of our faith, but the object of our faith. Remember how I said that mustard seed in the right soil could grow extremely tall…taller than any other plants in the garden. Well, remember that good soil and what happens in it? That mustard seed is like our faith…activated in good soil! It emerges and can cause a takeover in our spirit that cannot be contained!
Now, I am not sure how something that tastes so amazing on a turkey and cheese sandwich can be used for fuel, but I do know that when take our eyes off our problems or our circumstances and put them on Jesus, He is able to use every part of us for His glory! When we tune our ears to listen to His voice and our eyes to see His presence around us, we begin to be able to use ourselves in so many ways than we imagined for the Lord. We are used fully…nothing is wasted because we see the product of our faith…not the size.
I have talked about GMO scripture before…and how this world does it’s best to try and change the Word of God to fit their agenda or their idea. It was like that thought came back up again…it is so very easy for our faith to be swayed based on this world’s ideas, isn’t it? You listen to the world and it’s “reasoning” and you will soon find yourself questioning what God is capable to do through you. As a child of God, we are unique…peculiar…like that mustard seed. The Word of God doesn’t need to be combined with anything else…the kingdom of God needs nothing else. It’s stands alone all on its own! Does need anything added to it or taken away from it!
Just remember that we don’t need to focus on how big or how small our faith is from day to day. We must focus on God. It’s not about the quantity, but the quality. When you put the faith you have into the hands of a great and mighty God, it will grow and be strengthened. You will move mountains, friend…not by your power, but by the power of God.
Matthew 17:20, Luke 17:5-6, Mark 4:30-32, Luke 13:18-19