Something Small
This Sunday we continue with more parables describing the Kingdom of Heaven. In four, short, pithy parables, Jesus presents us with a great truth.
Click here to read the passage.
The first four parables in this lesson show us that the Kingdom of Heaven looks small, even insignificant, to human eyes, but, in fact, changes everything. A tiny mustard seed grows to a great bush. A lump of yeast doesn’t seem like much but it changes the whole loaf. One small pearl changes the value of an entire field. And going further, the one who knows the value of the pearl will gladly sacrifice all else to get the whole field.
To understand this, we need to remember that in the New Testament, the Kingdom of Heaven is not simply a place we go to in the “by and by” but a reality we can be a part of today. “The Kingdom of Heaven has come near” is not a prophecy of impending death or the end of the world, but a promise that we can be a part of the Kingdom here and now!
I find many Christians think that only big, grand things can mark Kingdom life. But I find that small things, little gestures, passing acts of kindness and love, are actually where the Kingdom is most likely to be found.
Never dismiss the small things. Don’t assume that because you aren’t doing something big and grand that you are not important in the Kingdom! Every good and loving deed, every kind word and act of service is part of the life of the Kingdom and proves that the Kingdom has, indeed, come near!
What is a small gesture you can do today, right now, to bring the Kingdom of Heaven to bear in your life and in the life of another?
This column appeared in the July 30, 2023 edition of St. John’s eNews. Click here for the complete issue.
If you are reading this at a different time, you may click here for the current eNews.
