God who grows us

It's Jesus who tells the Parable of the Mustard Seed. We can't miss this. After all, it's in all three of the synoptic gospels—Matthew, Mark and Luke. Sure, Jesus speaks of one of the tiniest seeds of all. Miraculously, it grows into this don't-mess-with-me monster plant that can reach 10' in height.

But Jesus isn't just talking about this miniscule to mighty germination event. He's talking about the Kingdom of God. Specifically, the Son of God is inspiring our faith to grow. Even more specifically, the Teacher of love and warmth is inspiring us to grow.

I can't change who tells this story. I wouldn't dream of it.

But I do dream. I also think. The joy of this story being so (pun-intended) deeply rooted in us is that its listeners become so familiar with it. It rests in us. Amazingly, it flourishes and expands us, too.

Again, it is Jesus who tells this story, but what if, as we move from Father's Day 2024 this past Sunday into a growing season this summer, we imagine how God, known throughout the Old Testament as Father God, is in (and behind) the story.

Here’s what I mean. Most (all?) of us have wanted something big, and all of us have dreamed big dreams, at least once or twice. We wanted it all. Specifically, we wanted it all at once. We didn’t want to climb the ladder. Instead, we wanted the one and done, the instant success.

Said simply, we wanted the big.

God gave us the small.

Why would the One who can provide us with such blessings—the very one who created the ever-expanding cosmos—hold back on us? Can’t our supersized God drop off supersized success more often than the steady flow of packages many of us receive from companies we order from online?

If God is so bountiful, why do we so often get bits and not the bountiful whole?

To answer, let me get back to the Kingdom of God, the phrase Jesus uses. In Mark 4:26-27, the One of care and concern says, “The Kingdom of God is like a farmer who scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, while he’s asleep or awake, the seed sprouts and grows, but he does not understand how it happens.”

Maybe God, who is so generous, can only gift us so much for a reason. Maybe our gifts, which can seem as tiny as a mustard seed, come to us slowly and in such small amounts because we can’t handle more in the moment.

Consider the manna from heaven that the people of Israel received (Exodus 17) in the wilderness. Abundance? Plenty? Stockpiles?

No, no and no.

I get what some of us are thinking. If we were told we had to spend $10.00 on ourselves, oh, hmm, phew, I guess we COULD do it. If we were told we could spend $100.00 on ourselves, we can do this, too.

If we can do it in $10.00, then why can’t we get the $100.00? There is no question Christians are to be humble, but do we have to struggle? Do we have to wait?

The answer is yes—or most often the answer is yes. Sometimes we do have to struggle. Sometimes we do have to wait.

Consider an important part of the Holy Week story. Jesus is heralded with hallelujahs on the day He enters Jerusalem. Woo Hoo! He’s the King who can provide immediate and lasting wellness to us, or so the people with palms believe. What’s not to like? What’s not to cheer?

But Jesus didn’t do instant success then. Jesus doesn’t do instant success now. We want lush gardens immediately (or at least easily). Instead, we get seeds. The One who can calm the seas and feed thousands doesn’t give us instant abundance. He gives us potential.

More so, He gives us the promise. If we take what we have which is this amazing combination of hope AND faith together then in prayer and in partnership with God we do see, in time, the Kingdom of God not from a distance but in the delight of the moment.

We are the seed. It is God who wants to grow us. No, we don’t understand exactly how this happens, but growth does happen. And that’s not enough. That’s far more than enough.