Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52
31 He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. 32 Though 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.”
33 He told them still another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about sixty pounds[a] of flour until it worked all through the dough.”
44 “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.
45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. 46 When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.
47 “Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish. 48 When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the shore. Then they sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away. 49 This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous 50 and throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
51 “Have you understood all these things?” Jesus asked.
“Yes,” they replied.
52 He said to them, “Therefore every teacher of the law who has become a disciple in the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old.”
“The Kingdom Of Heaven Is Like”
Where is the Kingdom to be found? In the kingly rule of God in the hearts of humans!
What is it like? Its power lies not in its size but in its King and its message.
How does it come? Not by our power but by the power of God at work in us.
The Kingdom of God seems terribly insignificant and insufficient in the affairs of the world,
yet it has the dynamic that can make the difference even in our world.
That dynamic is the love of God as known in Jesus Christ. A love which is individual and universal. “If Christianity doesn’t begin with the individual it doesn’t begin; but if it ends with the individual, it ends.”
A little bit of the Kingdom goes a long way once it gets into a person and through that person into the lives of others.
The parable of the Mustard Seed reminds us that God often works God’s purposes out through the insignificant. In the Kingdom of God, it is not bigness which counts, but making a difference in someone’s life.
Surprises have a way of sneaking up on a person and changing the mood of life - and with the mood so goes life. The Kingdom of heaven sneaks up on us and changes the mood -eternally!
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