In comparison to God, we are small and so irrelevant. Why should
any of us matter at all in relation to Him? If we view ourselves in perspective
to the entire universe it is hard to imagine what impact any of us individually
or even collectively can have on its existence. Yet, we are here and God loves
us. He loves us so much that we are truly known and cherished beyond any human
understand. This can be very difficult to understand since we are not used to
this kind of relationship. Has any of us been involved in such an unselfish
relationship that one is loved beyond all comprehension where one person would
suffer and die the most horrific death just to give the other person an
opportunity to receive a gift that is ultimately free? At the same time, this
gift will be expected to be abused and not treated with the importance that it
should be. God has given and continues to give so much while, because of who we
are, we cannot possibly give anything in comparison in return. We are only
expected to love. It is very simple but very powerful at the same time. God
does love us. He loves us so much and with an extreme abandon.
We are all swept up and lost in this world. We missed God’s
intent from the beginning and are being forced to play catch-up. In our
arrogance we think that we know everything and want to pursue our lives in the
way that we see that we should. We want to direct the movie and star in it at
the same time. Yet we have no idea what to do. We threw away the instruction manual
and fell asleep in class. Instead of listening we have chosen to ignore the
obvious that is in front of us. We are loved, we are important, and we do
matter.
Jesus described the Kingdom of God like a mustard seed. The
smallest of all seeds. For all intents and purposes, it is easily dismissed. In
the human perspective, bigger is always better. We are all easily led by the
attraction of greatness through material wealth and pleasures. We want to enjoy
things that stimulate us. And when we are stimulated, we then crave more to
satisfy our appetites. But our appetites are never satisfied. We always want to
indulge more and partake in those pleasures that distract us from the beauty of
creation around us and the love of God. These pleasures overwhelm us and
ultimately control our thoughts and motivations. We become prisoners to our own
desires while not even realizing the consequences until we are drowning in sin.
Even when our situation becomes hopeless we still fight to retain something
that cannot be held onto forever. In comparison, the love of God and the
attraction of a fulfilling relationship with him seem so small and valueless;
like a mustard seed.
Reflect back to the times in our lives when we ignored God. We
glorified sin and worshipped materialism around us. The visions of greatness
that we all envisioned for ourselves always included stature, wealth, and
pleasure. All of these were defined by what society told us what we had to do
to be happy. This is a temporary victory for Satan. As the mustard seed slowly sprouts and takes
root within us, how important are these other things now? This small seed,
which is planted within all of us and nurtured so gently by the presence of
God, grows stronger as long as we tend to it and care for it. Just as a blade
of grass can crack and destroy the most solid concrete foundation over time, so
can this mustard seed overcome anything in its path to flourish and grow beyond
expectation. This is a wonderful analogy. Regardless of the appeared strength
of anything offered in society which was created by us and our ingenuity, it
can always be overcome by even the smallest thing in God’s Creation.
This being true, then where does that leave us? This affords us
so much hope and promise through a relationship with our Creator. The mustard
seed is within us all. Nurture it. Foster it. And watch it grow.
Deacon Tom
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