Just a Tiny Mustard Seed

If you look carefully at the picture you will see a tiny mustard seed encapsulated in the glass heart. It is resting on the bible my Grandmother Elma Springer gave me in 1970. This chain and mustard seed bookmark has always been with it and shows where the scripture is marked in the margin.

"Jesus 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 NIV).

Look at that seed. It is the same as what you buy to make pickles in the spice section of the store. Who could imagine that Jesus would use a rather plain and tiny mustard seed to explain a concept of such importance? The mustard seed shows how the value of faith and how that faith grows from one tiny seed into an enormous tree of faith that is the kingdom of heaven, the future home of believers.

"Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, "Why couldn't we drive (the demon) out?" 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 17:19-21 NIV).

Jesus is preparing His disciples for their leadership role when He is gone. They must have faith.

"The apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith!" He replied, "If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it will obey you," (Luke 17:6 NIV).

Each time the disciples shared The Word with another person, it was like planting a single mustard seed. The story was shared again and again through generations and centuries and here we are still hearing that same story about the mustard seed and growing in our faith. We are part of God's Kingdom because we believe today. Who can you share The Word with today?

"Again he said, "What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it? It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest seed you plant in the ground. Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds of the air can perch in its shade," (Mark 4:30-32 NIV).

Plant a mustard seed today. Hold its power in your hand and increase your faith.