Mark 4:30-32

The mustard seed - certainly not the smallest seed on earth, but one that resonates with the agrarian crowd. Powerful words, right? The Kingdom is like a grain of sand. Is that what you expect Jesus to say? It seems more appropriate to use much larger imagery: the Kingdom of G-D is like the kingdom of Solomon, the Roman Empire, or the United States of America. G-D's Kingdom is liken to that of world empires. Soldiers of Christ arise and put your armor on. Vote for the right people in office, speak out against political opponents, conquer the world through terror and warfare.

But G-D's Kingdom is much more organic in nature. It starts off as a tiny seed, and then grows into a plant than can provide much needed shade for birds. (It's interesting that in several of the prophets (Ezekiel and Daniel in particular) we see birds symbolize other nations.) And notice who gets the glory and who does the work; it's G-D. Just as we learned in the previous parable, G-D spreads His rule on His own terms, not ours. We can line up for battle at the ballot box, but it is G-D who grows His Kingdom.

So, are you growing your own kingdom or G-D's?

For an interesting parallel to this parable, look at Ezekiel 17:22-24.