Luke 13: 18-21: The growth of the Kingdom.(please click here for todays passage)

It has been pointed out that these two parables, taken together, speak of the extensive and intensive growth of God’s Kingdom on earth. From tiny and insignificant beginnings, with just a handful of very ordinary people, the Kingdom has spread across the globe. The ‘birds of the air’ speak of the nations finding refuge – a nesting place – in this glorious Kingdom of God.

But not only have we seen (and still do see) the Kingdom growing numerically. We are also aware of the spread of its influence. So even as it grows extensively, in numbers, it also grows intensively, moving through society and its structures. Like leaven, it works slowly, silently and invisibly, but it certainly works. There is a ‘hiddenness’ about Kingdom life and growth. There is always a lot more happening than we can see.

Someone showed me a mustard seed on one occasion. I could hardly see it. But look what comes from it. God so often starts with the small, the anonymous, the obscure and the unlikely, and then works wonders with it.

On one occasion, Hudson Taylor, the famous missionary to China, was being introduced as a guest speaker at a meeting. The chairman, undoubtedly well-meaning, rhapsodised about what a wonderful man Hudson was. Hudson Taylor, however, came to the platform and said, ‘I am just the small servant of an illustrious Master.’ God sowed him like a mustard seed into the soil of China, and what growth has come from that one ‘small servant’. The impact is still being felt today.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, forgive me that I often judge by appearances. Help me to not despise the day of small things.