When Small Means BigSample

When Small is Better

Mark 4: 30-32:

“Again he said, “What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it?’ It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds on earth. Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds can perch in its shade.”

Matthew, Mark, and Luke mentioned the parable of the mustard seed. Why is this mentioned several times throughout the gospels? For background, mustard seeds are some of the smallest, yet they can grow to 10 feet high. Jesus describes the picture of “birds can perch in its shade.” The smallest of beginnings can end up providing safety and shade to many!

Likewise, Ezekial prophecies about this very scripture when he says,

“‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I myself will take a shoot from the very top of a cedar and plant it; I will break off a tender sprig from its topmost shoots and plant it on a high and lofty mountain. On the mountain heights of Israel I will plant it; it will produce branches and bear fruit and become a splendid cedar. Birds of every kind will nest in it; they will find shelter in the shade of its branches. All the trees of the forest will know that I the Lord bring down the tall tree and make the low tree grow tall. I dry up the green tree and make the dry tree flourish. I the Lord have spoken, and I will do it” (Ezekial 17:22-24).

God is talking about the growth of His kingdom! Birds find shelter from a seed that seems so insignificant you can hardly see it. What a picture of the powerful way God uses small things.

Jesus also points out that a mustard seed – the “smallest of seeds on earth” – turns into “the largest of all garden plants.” Jesus uses seeds and trees to teach us a powerful lesson: small beginnings can produce a life-changing impact. Three times in the gospels, it mentions how the birds find shelter and comfort under the branches:

Matthew: (13:2) “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.”

Mark: (4:32) “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.”

Luke: (13:19) “It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his garden. It grew and became a tree, and the birds perched in its branches.”

This prophecy is also mentioned in Daniel 4:12: “Its leaves were beautiful, its fruit abundant, and on it was food for all. Under it the wild animals found shelter, and the birds lived in its branches; from it every creature was fed.” This is the kingdom of God, life-giving!

If God is in us and cares about our emotions, downplaying how we feel or what we are experiencing is taking away room for God’s loving care at work. In this upside-down Christian kingdom where little things make a big impact, it is no wonder the enemy wants us to downplay or disregard how we feel because he knows our smallness is what God wants us to use the most to do big things.

Prayer: Lord, it can be hard for me to believe or understand fully that you do big things through small people like me. Or that the small things happening in my life are important to you. Help me to see myself and my circumstances through your eyes. I want to believe you are at work in me in ways I can’t see, but I need your help. Give me eyes to see what I am missing, and help me to believe that you’re at work in me.