He also said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable will we use for it? It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.
Mark 4:30-32

My sister got it as a weekly incentive at the IGA Foodliner in Olney, Illinois in the late 1960’s. (Other weekly promotional gifts included dishes and cups.) It was a charm for a bracelet. It consisted of a small glass orb which encased a tiny little seed. The card that came with the gift said that it was a mustard seed.

It was pretty common in that time and place to talk faith, and the local grocery store played to the sentiments of the community by giving away mustard seed charms. That’s how I was first able to picture a parable that I heard in Sunday School and church.

The Kingdom of God starts simply, like sowing a mustard seed. It comes to you. It comes to me. What are we in a world that is filled with billions of people? We are a good start. And when the kingdom takes root in you (and in me), it starts to grow. The seed that is sown is the smallest of seeds. But once is grows, it becomes a great shrub, where it can benefit the world.

Prayer

Thank You God for planting the seeds of faith in my heart and soul. Help me to water and cultivate this gift, so that I may be a blessing in Your world. Amen.