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CHRISTIAN LIVING TODAY
When I was young, many girls wore small necklaces with a clear round bauble holding a tiny mustard seed inside.
It wasn’t particularly pretty to me, but I suppose many saw it as a declaration of sorts. I was never certain what it meant, and it didn’t attract my admiration — I never really wanted one.
For years, I was familiar with Bible passages about “faith as a mustard seed,” but it never resonated much or seemed particularly significant. It was just a Bible story, one Jesus called a parable: an earthly story with a heavenly meaning. I didn’t grow up around seeds or planting or gardens, and I don’t recall anyone explaining this particular parable. So, as someone still learning, I only recently began to understand this meaningful story — and now, I’ll share some of what I’ve learned with you, and I hope it’s not old news.
A mustard seed is one of the tiniest of all seeds, yet it is also known for its rapid growth. The parable is a metaphor for faith, but I had never really put the pieces together. Today, science also reveals the mustard seed’s health benefits — it’s a treasured little seed. When planted, this seemingly insignificant seed grows quickly into a mature and beneficial shrub. But to become that shrub, the dry seed must be planted. Planting brings change, it must be transformed.
It cannot remain a small, dry seed and still fulfill its intended purpose.
Our lives are similar to that of a mustard seed. We, too, must be willing to be planted and embrace change in order to grow and mature into what God intends for us.
He created us with potential that may seem small in our estimation, but He knows the end from the beginning. A mustard seed contains all it needs to bloom when planted, to take root and grow.
Scripture says our faith is like the mustard seed — while small, it holds great potential, already provided with all we need.
When we invest our little faith and offer ourselves to God by obeying Him, He takes that and multiplies the investment. As a good gardener, He helps us grow.
Like the mustard shrub or tree, we can become a place of refuge, sustenance and nurturing. It is a beautiful picture of transformation — a life of purpose and meaning.
He knows our potential. Let’s grow. Until next week, Anita Onarecker, an Elgin resident, author of “Divine Appointment: Our Journey to the Bridge” and minister to women and adults, earned a Master of Christian Education from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in 2007.
