Mustard Seed

“He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all your seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and perch in its branches.”

(Matthew 13:31-32)

Reflection:

If you have ever felt like giving up then remember this little parable.

 There was a particular kind of mustard plant in Palestine that grew rapidly from a minute and barely discernible seed into a shrub the size of a tree and with strong branches – strong and high enough for the birds to nest in. Very often too a tree was used as a symbol for a mighty empire and the birds represented the nations that came to find protection under the umbrella of its power and significance. The man in the parable is the Lord and the field is the world. The seed which the Lord planted is His gift of Jesus. In this one person an invincible force entered into the world. From what seemed such a small beginning a mighty and eternal Kingdom would conquer the world and provide protection, security and life for those who came to find their homes within its branches.

 The first truth for us to grasp is that it is God who plants His gift of faith in Jesus into us.

“You have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.” (Ephesians 2:8)

 No matter how small that gift is to start with it has the most wonderful potential. The Kingdom of God, both within us and around us, started from something barely noticeable but with boundless possibility. God’s Kingdom is growing and cannot be stopped! Our faith in Him is designed to grow as our relationship develops.

 The second truth is that it is not the size of our faith that is important to God at any moment in time. The tiniest faith is still the key to opening the way for His immense and limitless power to be unleashed into a situation. It is the absence of any faith which is the problem.

“He replied, “Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, `Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” (Matthew 17:20)

 A tiny key can open a huge door, a small rudder can change the direction of a vast ocean liner and a little switch can flood a building with light. It’s what is behind the faith that counts. And, as God is behind our faith, we start by turning to Him and asking Him to be involved in a situation which is too big for us to handle. This may be something outside of us, or something within us that is standing in the way of our growth and relationship with the Lord. In all such situations even the heart-felt words ‘Help Lord’ suffice. A tiny step of faith can develop into something remarkable.

 The third wonderful truth is that, whether we are aware of it or not, God is at work within us. His desire is to draw us closer to Himself and to build us up in His love and purpose. As Christians we are a part of His Kingdom and His Kingdom is also being established within us.

• “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Ephesians 2:10)
• “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 1:6)

 In the example of this parable His vision is that we should grow to become a tree to which others are drawn for help, food and rest. As we are a part of His Kingdom the qualities of the Kingdom will be revealed in and around us, and the fruit of the Kingdom will be there for others to enjoy.

 Keep going and growing. Our faith is in God – not in our faith! He has brought us this far and will not abandon us. Each of us is to witness to Him in our own situations. Each of us is to be a small beginning from which the Kingdom grows even more widely. As God plants His seed within us so He also plants us as His seed in our situations.

Response:

Pray that God will increase your faith and trust in Him.

 Prayer:

Lord, I too pray “I believe, help my unbelief.” Please help me to turn to You in all the challenges of life, and to grow as Your tree in my situation.

 ————-

 

Kingdom of Heaven

“The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire men to work in his vineyard.”

(Matthew 20:1)

Reflection:

When he hired them the landowner agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and set them to work in his vineyard. At other times during the day he went out again into the market–place and hired the men waiting there, the last crew working only for an hour. When the time came to pay them he gave each one a denarius irrespective of the time that they had worked. The ones who had worked all day complained that this was unfair, to which he responded,

“Friend, I am not being unfair to you. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius? Take your pay and go. I want to give the man who was hired last the same as I gave you. Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?”(Matthew 20:13-15)

 The landowner in the parable is identified with God, and the labourers as those who enter the kingdom of heaven but at different times in their lives. Some will ‘work for Christ’ for a lengthy period and others for a very short space of time. Jesus makes some very important points here about the love and generosity of God and the lack of any obligation on His part.

 Firstly, none of the labourers entered of their own accord. Each one was identified and called by the landowner. The fact that he kept going out looking for more people to involve was his own decision. He was under no obligation to do so. In the same way each and every one of God’s people has been identified and called by the grace of God at a particular time in their lives. That decision has been made by God alone.

 Secondly, God stated the reward to the first who were called. Because this reward was His alone to give, and because of the abundant generosity of His nature, He did not wish anyone to receive less of a reward than others. So God does not wish anyone to receive less of the kingdom of heaven, and of His love, than anyone else. There is no question of our earning what He has in store for us or of our being more deserving than others. By His grace we all receive all that there is to receive – there are no second class children in God’s home; all are equally precious to Him.

 We need to be quite clear that we have contributed absolutely nothing towards our salvation. God elected that we should know Him, receive His love,  experience salvation through Jesus death and resurrection, end enjoy the blessing of the indwelling Holy Spirit. He chose and called us long before we made any response. Our calling is a gift from God as is the faith by which we responded to it.

• “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.” (Romans 8:28-30)
• “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith–and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God– not by works, so that no one can boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9)

 It is no credit to us whether we have been a Christian for a long or a short period – it is all due to God’s grace. The very most that those who have been a Christian longer than others can say is that they have known the joy of the Lord for that much longer in this life. The eternal blessings will be no different. Having given all of us His Son, God our Father is not about to withhold anything else from us.

Response:

How very privileged I am to have been identified and called by God

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, thank You so very much for my calling and my salvation in Jesus Christ. Help me please to be so secure in Your love that I will desire the same for all others as well. Amen.

 ———–

The Certain Way

“Therefore Jesus said again, “I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep…. whoever enters through me will be saved.”

(John 10:7-9)

Reflection:

There was only one way for the sheep to enter into the sheep-fold that Jesus was describing, and that was through the door, or gate. If they did not come in through the door, they were obliged to stay outside. This image, based on something that everyone then could visualise and understand, was quite clear. His point, however hard it might be for some to accept, was also obvious. There is no way into the Kingdom of Heaven except through Jesus. This is affirmed elsewhere in Scripture:

• “Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6)

 That there would be some to whom the door would be closed when they got there is also clear from Scripture.

• “Many will say to me on that day, `Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, `I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!” (Matthew 7:22-23)

 Jesus is the door through whom alone entrance into God’s presence becomes possible. Anyone who has not entered through Him has, in fact, not entered the Kingdom of God. Anyone who has come into a church, except through Christ, the door, may have entered the building or the association, but has not entered the Church as the body of Christ. There is only one way, and His death on the cross must prove that beyond any doubt. If there had been another then no God of love would have allowed His Son to be brutalised and dealt with in such a fashion.

 Jesus is the only entrance into the presence and Kingdom of God. His decision is the one that counts and when He judges that decision will be binding for all eternity. He needs to be taken seriously. At the same time He does not wish His sheep to be worried about their future so He gives them promises that are definite and certain.

• “Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.” (John 6:29)
• “Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God– children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.” (John 1:12-13)
• “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)

 To receive the salvation offered by Jesus and through Him is to turn from ourselves to Him, from our way of life to His, and from the words of the world to the Word of God. As John Stott has written, ‘the way to ‘receive’ or ‘enter’ the Kingdom is to repent and believe; that is, to turn decisively away from all known sin and to turn in faith and commitment to Jesus as King’ and to trust Him completely.  It is a decision that we need to remember and live out every day.

 Response:

Am I an onlooker or a member? Do I honour my salvation and Saviour?

 Prayer:

Lord Jesus, I come to You (again) as Saviour and Lord – acknowledging You as the only way to the Father, and thanking You that You have brought me to this moment in my life. As I accept You, as best I can, as my Saviour, please open wide the door for me and draw me (deeper) into the Life that You have prepared for me. In Your name I pray. Amen.

—————-