This is one of my all time favorite photos! Oh the joy that children bring into our lives! Jesus said in Matthew 18 that we must turn and become like children to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. And if we receive one such child, we receive Jesus.
Our question for today comes from Luke 13:18. Jesus is asking the question, “What is the Kingdom of God like?” Maybe we thought it looked something like this…
If we were to stand inside the Padua and look up at the fresco inside the dome of the Baptistery, this is what we would see, painted by Guisto de Menabuoi. The glory of the Kingdom! Glorious it is, but the picture Jesus gives in Luke 13 is quite different. He talks about a mustard seed, the tiniest of all seeds, growing into a tree where birds come and make their nests.
This photo was taken by a friend when we were at Lake Caddo in East Texas. The trees are not from mustard seeds, but they do grow from small seeds. Aren’t they magnificent and beautiful? And they are a sight so totally unexpected as they grow up out of the lake! The point is that the Kingdom comes out of something small and seemingly insignificant, yet it grows into something mighty and powerful. Something great lies within something small!
When I look back upon my ministry, it is the small moments that made the biggest difference. As I retired from full time ministry, persons from each congregation I had served gathered for a dinner. At the close of the evening they put me in the center of the room and all laid hands on me to pray…
What a powerful moment in my life! What a beautiful picture of the Kingdom! I look at it and realize the potential and power within each small prayer to make a difference for all eternity. Wow! I am overwhelmed and ever so grateful.
Pondering…
Where in your life do you see glimpses of the Kingdom?
When have you seen something great come out of something small?
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How serendipitous…this morning I was studying Luke 17 and 18 and pondering the “kingdom of God”. From Luke 17:20, 21 “Now having been questioned by the Pharisees as to when the kingdom of God was coming, He answered them and said, “The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed; nor will they say, “Look, here it is” or, “There it is!” For behold, the kingdom of God is in your midst.” Another translation of the last part reads “the kingdom of God is within you.” I wonder what the Pharisees thought about that answer…. And then one chapter later Jesus was responding to a wealthy self-righteous ruler who asked “What shall I do to inherit eternal life?”, Jesus summed up His response by the statement “How hard it is for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God!”. Jesus’ disciples, hearing His response said, “Then who can be saved?”. Jesus replied, “The things that are impossible with people are possible with God.” I am so very thankful that God allows us repentant sinners to enter the kingdom of God through His grace because I know it would be otherwise impossible.
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