I always admire some people for how successful and famous they are. Is that what many of us want in life? We can be obsessed with significance and success—the big and the beautiful. But the parables of the mustard seed and yeast compare the way of the kingdom (God’s reign on earth) to small, hidden, and seemingly insignificant things whose work is slow and gradual.
Christ’s mission culminated in His life, like a seed, being buried in the ground; like yeast, being hidden in the dough. Yet He rose. Like a tree breaking through the dirt, like bread when the heat is turned up. Jesus rose.
We’re called to live according to His way, the way that’s persisting and gradual. To resist the temptation to take matters into our own hands in order to get the outcome they may produce. The outcome – (Matthew 13:32) “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.” And the bread that provides a feast—will be Christ’s doing, not ours.
There may be small and seemingly insignificant things that we can do to encourage or bless the people in our life. Dear Lord, thank You for often working in small, hidden, and seemingly insignificant ways. Help me to trust You’re at work even when I can’t see You. Grant me the grace to remain faithful.