What is the Kingdom of God like? To what can I compare it? It is like a mustard seed that a man took and planted in the garden. When it was fully grown, it became a large bush and the birds of the sky dwelt in its branches.

The mustard seed while not the smallest of seeds in this world, is smaller than a poppy seed, but when fully grown can be 15 feet wide and 10 feet tall. That is a pretty big bush. The only seed that I know of, that has a bigger difference, is the giant redwood. The redwood seed is about that size of the tip of a sharpened pencil, but the jews would not have gotten that reference, because the redwoods were on the other side of the planet from them. But the mustard seed analogy is still very apropos.

Nevertheless, I always sit up and take notice when mention of the “kingdom of heaven” are made. These moments provide incredible insight into the mind of God, and of Jesus’ teachings. So what is He saying here? This seed is Jesus, and when He is planted in the ground, He dies, and then rises. He then grows so large that all humans come and live in the branches of His kingdom.

This is the metaphor for Christ’s life, and for His ministry on earth, and it is an analogy that perfectly describes what happened in christianity after Jesus’s resurrection. The world has never seen anything like it. Christianity has spread to every corner of the globe, and millions of people live according to His teachings, and follow His ways. And when the final judgement happens, and all of the world’s righteous people are invited into the beatific vision, then this will be the fulfillment of the mustard plant, and the completion of the vision that is the Kingdom of Heaven.

Oh lord, help me today to find your mustard tree, and the dwell in its branches, keep me lord from wandering in the wilderness. Amen.