Mark 4:30-32
“How can we picture God’s kingdom? What kind of story can we use? It’s like an acorn. When it lands on the ground it is quite small as seeds go, yet once it is planted it grows into a huge oak tree with thick branches. Eagles nest in it.”
“Jesus said, ‘How can I describe the Kingdom of God? What story should I use to illustrate it? It is like a mustard seed planted in the ground. It is the smallest of all seeds, but it becomes the largest of all garden plants; it grows long branches, and birds can make nests in its shade.’”
The Kingdom of God is no wimpy thing. It is easy to think it is on the defensive in this wild and woke world. But Jesus said it is powerful, in energy and size and its growth is vigorous. Its size provides shelter, allowing us to leave our shells, eat milky bugs and pablum grain, and fledge into the wild. All our lives we remain anchored to its trunk and branches for sustenance and growth. May we never leave it for the land of self-determination.
Lord, I am afraid of my tendency to wander and leave you. Please keep me tethered and safe, hand in hand with you, living at the center of you will. And grow me, according to your perfect purpose.