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 of flour until it worked all through the dough.”
34 Jesus spoke all these things to the crowd in parables; he did not say anything to them without using a parable. 35 So was fulfilled what was spoken through the prophet:
“I will open my mouth in parables,
I will utter things hidden since the creation of the world."
Matthew 13:31-35
Questions for Reflection:
Do you find yourself feeling impatient with God? What situations cause you to feel the most impatient?
Why do you think patience is such a high value in the Kingdom?
Prayer of the Week:
Lord Jesus, I come to You now to be restored in You, to be renewed in You and to receive all the grace and mercy I so desperately need this day. I honor You as my Lord and God and surrender every aspect of my life totally and completely to You. Thank You for loving me so very much and I now intentionally enter that love relationship with You as I pray.
Jesus, I admit that there are times I don’t “get” You. I don’t understand how You and the Father and the Spirit are working at this moment in my life and in my world. (Take a couple of moments and candidly admit frustrations with Jesus and situations where you find it difficult and frustrating to trust and obey Him.)
Even as I admit these frustrations I am, in some way, surrendering them to You. You are God and I am not. You see a much bigger picture than I do. I surrender to You – not in a sense cynical defeat but in life giving faith. Jesus, I believe in You. Help my unbelief.
Holy Spirit, I need Your counsel, comfort, strength and guidance. I ask You to fill me afresh with Your presence and life so that I might see the many little ways Your kingdom is breaking in to this broken world. I want to see and seize the opportunities You are giving me to share love and forgiveness, grace and kindness, truth and justice, sacrifice and service, joy and compassion, words and actions all done in Your name as small but vital parts of Your kingdom breaking into our broken world.
I thank You so much for calling me to be Your child, to be Your witness in this world and contend for Your kingdom even in small and seemingly insignificant ways. It is refreshing to know that little things done in Your name do matter and matter greatly. Thank You for being the kind of God where someone as insignificant as me can matter so very much to You. I love You,
Amen
