It is the smallest of all the seeds,
yet when full-grown it is the largest of plants.
We have not been born from perishable seed but from the imperishable seed of the word of God (see First Peter 1:23). The seed planted within is powerful. But at first it is just a seed. There is a lot of growth that needs to happen before anything is even visible on the surface. Even once the plant does break through the soil toward the sun it is not immediately a bush large enough to give hospitality and blessings to the birds of the sky. We need to learn to believe that this seed, which at first seems of little consequence, is the most significant thing in our lives. Even when we don't see growth we should not give up on the seed but prioritize the care of the soil, creating the ideal growing conditions as grace makes us able.
It becomes a large bush,
and the birds of the sky come and dwell in its branches.
The seed will become a bush. It has the power within itself to do so. Our part is to center our lives and hearts around the growth of this seed, even while leaving the actual growth in the hands of God. What we must not do is meet initial discouragement about our growth and then abandon the seed to seek fulfillment elsewhere. If we will just not deprive it of attention, the seed will grow. It is only by closing our hearts to it and insisting on looking elsewhere that might kill it entirely.
The Kingdom of heaven is like yeast
that a woman took and mixed with three measures of wheat flour
until the whole batch was leavened.
Just as the Kingdom in each one of us individually operates in a hidden but powerful way so too does the Kingdom in the wider world. Christians are meant to be the leaven that makes the dough of the world to rise above barbarism to true civility, based on the dignity of each human being. This may not seem to be the case in the world, and Christians, to be honest, may not seem to be doing much to help. Yet each Christian that lives acknowledging the God-given goodness of the world and life is fundamentally affecting the conversation. We reveal a beauty that is not easy to ignore once it is seen. We may never see a unified and virtuous Christendom in the future, as much as that ideal might be desirable. Nevertheless, the world can be a rich loaf, abundant with nourishment for those who hunger.
Since the seed is the word of God, fidelity to the it means keeping the commandments and avoiding idolatry. Every idol is a lifeless seed, incapable of bearing fruit. Watering any such seed is a waste of resources. As to the dough, it can't be leavened with infidelity. This is what the Enemy suggests, telling us that God was holding out on us and that idols could offer more, more bread, faster, and easier. But the mark of the Enemy is that while he promises much he only ever takes. In his kingdom of darkness there is never a bush capable of hospitality and love. There is never a loaf capable of feeding masses. There is only hollowness and regret. Yet God is more interested in our own lives and destinies than are we. Even when we fall for the lies of the Enemy he does not abandon us. He restores us by his mercy even when we fail to put his Kingdom first.
Then he spoke of exterminating them,
but Moses, his chosen one,
Withstood him in the breach
to turn back his destructive wrath.
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