Kindom Of Heaven

Kingdom of God, also called Kingdom Of Heaven, in Christianity, the spiritual realm over which God reigns as king, or the fulfillment on Earth of God's will.

How does one explain the unexplainable, describe the indescribable, or comprehend the incomprehensible? Such was the challenge facing Jesus as he attempted to paint a picture of the Kingdom of Heaven for us. So Jesus explained by telling parables, earthly stories with heavenly meanings. Jesus said it might be: the kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, a little bit of leaven, a treasure hidden in the field, a pearl of great price, a dragnet of fish. Let those who have ears to hear spiritual things be alert to these little metaphors of Jesus. Today, let us meditate on what the Kingdom of Heaven is like!

I. The Kingdom of Heaven is SMALL - Like a Mustard Seed.

The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field, 32 which indeed is the least of all the seeds; but when it is grown it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches. -Matthew 13:31-32

Jesus uses a lot of farming metaphors. The Last Adam had the imagination of the First Adam, a gardener. It could be simply because Jesus grew up in a farming community. The Galilee was filled with fertile farmland. A seed which, when planted, grows to be the largest of garden plants, large enough for birds of the air to rest in its branches.

In Jesus’ parables for today, we hear two important messages. One—that for God’s seed to be planted deeply within your heart, your heart must be "good soil." "Eyes to see and ears to hear" is the way Jesus puts it. The seed of God’s Word would be planted within God’s people, and would henceforth be passed down through generations as fruit-bearing, and re-seeding—what we might call generational evangelism! The Second Adam came to the world as a seed of a woman to save us. And Genesis 3:15, tells us, And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.

The images of the "seed and ground" and the image of the "garden" are metaphors for the many hearts that are planted together in community. They are the primal images of the scriptures. And Jesus is using these images, especially dear to the hearts of farmers, in order to tell his stories that remind people how important it is to be in a relationship—in a close and intimate relationship—with God.

Then, secondly—Jesus uses the parables of the growing plant and of the mustard seed to tell us that once a seed of God’s kingdom is planted, it grows so fast, you turn around, and it’s the largest plant in the garden! Look at the big tree of mustard.

Mustard seeds are small, even smaller than the sand of the sea. Mustard trees are tall enough to give birds shade on hot, stuffy days. The Kingdom of Heaven, the rule of God, the new order of a better world, that is now but not yet, here but still to come, present but not complete, is small like a mustard seed but offers us a place of shade and rest on a hot, sul-try day.

We who worship big buildings, big stores, big stadiums, big churches, believe that "bigger is always better," whereas we want to pay attention to the parable about the power of a tiny mustard seed.

C.S. Lewis says, "The best thing about Christianity is that nobody could have guessed it." We have our Messiah born in a stable. We have our king ride into town on a donkey. We crucify our Lord on a cross. We converted the world with a handful of fishermen and a couple of tax collectors. How odd of God not to use our methods of promoting the Gospel.

Never let us underestimate the little things. In a seed lies a mustard tree, where all kinds of birds can find rest for their souls. Jesus himself said,"If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there' and it will move. For nothing is impossible with God "(Matthew 17:20). Let those who have ears to hear, hear!

II. The Kingdom of Heaven is SILENT - Like Leaven in Bread.

The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all leavened. - Matthew 13:33.

There is a story in Los Angeles about a baker who made the best pumpernickel bread in the city. No one could copy it, because his starter was unique. He used to lock the starter in a safe each night to protect it – because all you needed to do to copy the taste of his bread was to get some of his starter. The other ingredients you could figure out. What you couldn't do is copy the exact makeup of his starter.