FROM INSIGNIFICANT TO MAGNIFICENT

-

 JULY 07, 2022




Jesus tells this parable of the kingdom of God in Matthew 13:31-32. He teaches, “The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.” I have become increasingly aware that trees are beautiful pictures of God’s ability to take what we view as weak or insignificant, a seed, and make a magnificent and life-giving creation out of it. And Matthew 13 reveals how trees can be viewed as pictures of the very kingdom of their Creator. It’s amazing and comforting that God would begin his kingdom small and grow it by faithful stewardship into a beautiful and life-giving creation.

Trees grow year after year, season after season. Flowers never begin as beautiful as they are in full bloom. The earth is constantly undergoing abundant transformation as God’s creation grows and changes. You and I are no different. God’s plan has always been to mold us into beautiful pictures of his love. He’s always longed to fashion us until we walk in a full, restored, abundant life relationship with him. And by the life and death of Christ, he’s made the way for his desires to come to completion. All that’s left is for us to engage fully in this wonderful process he’s created for us. Engage in the growth he longs to birth in you.

And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.” 

2 Corinthians 3:18-19


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

FUN with GOD

-
Image
  June 13, 2024 PSALM 30:11-12 “You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; you have loosed my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness, that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever!” I have learned that God loves to exceed our expectations and break open our boxes. For example today let us think about our Father in Heaven as a God who is "Fun". I was talking with a friend recently and we were talking about the varied perceptions of God that many people have. Sadly, the notion of God most common is that God is not loving toward all he has made, but a God waiting to exact some form of retribution for our actions that he might deem "sin". You know "God is out to get you" kind of thinking. My friend and I felt that this is a terrible misconception and distortion of the Bible's picture of God. I am convinced that the Bible contains evidence that God desires to reveal to us the immense joy of havi
Read more

BE ENCOURAGED

-
Image
  JULY 3, 2024 Psalm 8  Lord , our Lord,      how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory      in the heavens. 2  Through the praise of children and infants      you have established a stronghold against your enemies,      to silence the foe and the avenger. 3  When I consider your heavens,      the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars,      which you have set in place, 4  what is mankind that you are mindful of them,      human beings that you care for them? 5  You have made them a little lower than the angels      and crowned them with glory and honor. 6  You made them rulers over the works of your hands;      you put everything under their feet: 7  all flocks and herds,      and the animals of the wild, 8  the birds in the sky,      and the fish in the sea,      all that swim the paths of the seas. 9  Lord , our Lord,      how majestic is your name in all the earth! In this Psalm, David expresses wonder at how God displays His power through the most
Read more

METEORIC LOVE

-
Image
  JULY 5, 2024 I'm amazed at the human capacity for love. I will use myself as the case study. I have been blessed to have a beautiful and wonderful woman to love as my wife. When our first daughter was born, I was amazed to find that my heart expanded to a different channel of love. Some of you I am guessing know what I am talking about. My soul opened in a new way. When I thought I had expended all my love, along came children 2, 3, and 4. I would always wonder if I had the capacity to love more than I already did, could my heart expand more? Guess what my capacity for love kept growing. And now as a grandfather of 4, that love expands and expands with each one. I have said to my daughter about my Grandkids, “just when you think you have topped out your love for them,” which is quite substantial, "you spend an afternoon with them and your love for them grows again." There seems to be some new reservoir of love that opens and is released. Have you experienced that in you
Read more