Jesus talks about the Kingdom of God in multi-faceted ways. It is dynamic. It is living. It is experiential. It is a reality! Those of us that constantly ask, “how much longer?” are missing the current reality of the Kingdom. Jesus teaches that the Kingdom of God starts small…like a seed. So often we are looking for the big things, because small seems insignificant. But it is precisely here, in the seemingly insignificant areas of our life, that the Kingdom of God is breaking in! So often, we are caught looking the other way…waiting for the bigger and better reality. In addition to starting small, another reality of “Kingdom Seeds” is that they have to die. This is the mess of the Kingdom. In order for a flower to become beautiful, it must go through a process of dying. The seed dies, goes into the ground with decomposing dirt (which is a larger dying process) and eventually comes to new life that is beautiful. It’s interesting to note that God grows this new life. We cannot grow a plant, we can only watch. Give us a hammer and nails and we can build something…but it will be lifeless. True life is only created by God.

Are we willing to be those types of seeds? The types of seeds that are seemingly small and insignificant? The types of seeds that need to die to themselves? The types of seeds that need to be planted in the smelly dirt? Participating in the Kingdom of God does not require controlling the growth. In fact, only God can cause a seed to grow. All we can do is submit to His process. We can allow ourselves to be the seeds. We can die to ourselves, our agendas, and narcissism. We can choose to enter the smelly relationships of our neighbors, our family, and our city. And we can wait and watch as God grows another miracle.

Mark 4:30 - 32