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
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