Why should we have faith in a seed (Mark 4:26-34)?

 

 “This is what the kingdom of God is like.  A man scatters seed on the ground.”  “What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it?  It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest seed you plant in the ground.” 

 

These are the images that Jesus uses to describe the Kingdom of heaven to a bunch of people that have no idea what the kingdom of heaven looks like.  In both parables, Jesus uses the image of a seed to describe God’s kingdom.  In one parable He uses the image of a mustard seed, which, according to Him is the smallest of all seeds.  So what does this tell us about the Kingdom of Heaven?

 

Well, first of all a seed doesn’t look like much does it?  A seed isn’t even worth anything unless it eventually stops being a seed and starts being a plant.  How many of you are farmers or gardeners?  How often do friends stop by and take a look at your farm or garden and compliment you on how beautiful your seeds look?  I bet you only get compliments when those seeds start growing into plants.  You see a seed is simply a small package of unrealized potential.  It is an expectation that has not yet been fulfilled.  A seed is a risk that may or may not pan out.

 

So why should we take this risk?  Why should we put our faith in a kingdom that Jesus describes as a seed?  What if the seed doesn’t grow?  What if the seed doesn’t become anything for us? 

 

You see the question is not whether or not we will invest our faith into something.  We all invest our faith into something.  In other words we all depend on something in our lives to give us meaning, to give us a sense of worth, to give us purpose.  Martin Luther said once that there are no atheists…a person’s god is where he or she hangs his or her heart.  Billy Graham said that he could tell where a person’s faith is by spending just five minutes with that person’s check book.  No the question is not whether or not we will invest our faith in something, the question is whether or not that something will be God and His kingdom. 

 

 

 

There are so many other “kingdoms” in our lives that are constantly competing for our faith alongside God’s kingdom. There are so many more “kingdoms” in our lives that initially seem more attractive and that initially seem to offer us a more instant gratification than God’s kingdom seems to offer.  For example, wealth can be a competing kingdom.  We can depend on our wealth rather than God for our sense of worth or value.  We can say to ourselves, “If I make six figures a year, then I am finally worth something, then I am a valuable person.”  Talent and ability can be a competing kingdom.  We can depend on our personal talents and abilities rather than God to give our lives purpose, “If I can make people shout Alleluia during my sermons and drop 100’s into the offering plate, then my life has meaning!”  Personal relationships too can be a competing kingdom.  We can depend on our personal relationships rather than God to tell us what kind of people we are, “If my wife loves me, my kids look up to me, and the people I work with respect me, then I will know that I am a good person.”

 

And it is only natural for us to put our faith in such visible, instantly gratifying kingdoms because they give us a way to measure our value.  They give us a way to know for sure

whether or not we are doing what we should be doing on this planet, whether or not we are achieving enough, or earning enough, or loving enough, or being loved enough.  Life offers so many visible, measurable ways to define our sense of worth, our sense of value, and our happiness that God’s kingdom at first appears like just a tiny little seed in comparison.

 

But if the other worldly kingdoms that strive for our faith could truly support us, then having enough money would always make us feel secure, and being loved by other people would always make us feel valued, and being good at our jobs would be enough to make us feel like our lives have purpose and meaning.  We know, however, that all too often these things fall short.  We all know people, whether it is ourselves or others who are wealthy, yet insecure, who are loved, yet feel worthless, and who work hard yet have no purpose.  We search for joy, confidence, and a sense of purpose in many different attractive kingdoms, yet most of these kingdoms simply leave us wanting more (could do fishing analogy here if you feel it). 

 

In the end, God has asked us to place our faith in Him and His kingdom.  God has asked us to look at Him raised from the dead, working in our lives right here and right now and to pin our future security on Him.  God has asked us to look at Him, dead on a cross because He would not allow us to remain alienated from Him and see in this love our true value.  God has asked that His loving relationship with us satisfy our search for purpose and meaning.   

 

I do not want for a moment to pretend or make it sound like this is an easy thing to do.  It absolutely is not easy to put our faith in a tiny little mustard seed and trust that God will grow a bush that will fulfill us.  As I said earlier, there are many other kingdoms out there competing for our faith, competing for our hearts.  Jesus knew that, and so that’s probably why He described the kingdom of heaven as a tiny seed; it is a risky investment that asks for our trust that it will one day grow into a life-giving bush.    

 

I would guess that almost everybody here today including myself have placed our faith and our hope and our security in something that isn’t God.  We have asked other people to make us feel loved, we have asked our work to give our lives purpose, we have asked our possessions to give us our value.  I cannot speak for you, but for me, I have asked many things in life other than God to fill me.  So far they have all failed.  I hope one day to stop asking.

 

We must put our faith in God because in the end God is really the only game in town.  No other kingdom on earth, regardless of how attractive it may appear can grow into a life-giving bush.  In other words, no other kingdom can fill us like God can.  God has built us in such away that we are meant to depend on and rejoice in Him, the Creator, not the creation. 

 

So let us look at the seeds we are planting in our own lives.  Let us look at the seeds we are watering and nurturing.  Where are we placing your faith and our hope?  Where do we find our purpose and meaning?  Where do we find our strength?  Let us look and see what areas of our lives give us joy, meaning, and security.  God invites us to love and rejoice in the many kingdoms of our lives; our prosperity, our families, our work.  But He has asked us to depend on and to invest our faith in His kingdom alone.  God has not asked us to do this because He is selfish, but because God knows that only He is big enough to finally fill us. 

 

So let us take a risk on that tiny little seed.  Let us trust God, who promises it will grow into a life-giving bush that will fulfill us here, now, and after we die.  It really is the most important risk we can ever take.  Amen.