What is the Kingdom of Heaven Like?
Over the past few weeks we’ve been asking this question with our students at Campus. It seems to be a great question because we have so many questions about Heaven, the Kingdom of Heaven, is it already here or is it what comes later & on & on… So it’s been fun to talk through this with our students. To think about it. Ask questions. And see what we can learn from Jesus.
One thing we’ve discovered is that Jesus is the master story-teller. People today who don’t even believe in God know of his stories. You can ask almost anyone about the Good Samaritan or the Prodigal Son & they’ll know what you’re talking about. Amazing that all these years later people around the world still know of & speak of Jesus’ stories.
And Jesus often used his stories to tell us what his Kingdom is like. Here’s one short story of his that reveals just one small aspect of what his Kingdom is all about…
Here is another illustration Jesus used: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed planted in a field. It is the smallest of all seeds, but it becomes the largest of garden plants; it grows into a tree, and birds come and make nests in its branches.” :: Matthew 13:31-32
As you read these words from Jesus, this story about a mustard seed, what questions come to mind for you? Here’s three of my questions.
1. What is Jesus trying to teach us in this story?
I’m sure there is much we can learn from this story — & trust me when I say volumes have been written about these words from Jesus. But here’s one thing I think we can say Jesus was trying to teach us. There is value in smallness. The Kingdom of Heaven comes from small things, but is HUGE. God can do & does big things with small beginnings.
2. In what ways do we feel small sometimes?
I asked our teenagers this question & they were quick to give me a list of responses. All of them could be reduced to our fear & insecurities. We sometimes feel small in our faith. Our ability. What we can accomplish. The difference we can make, really. But Jesus’ teaching here reminds us that there is value in smallness. Especially where the Kingdom of God is involved.
3. What would life be like if we trusted God with the small things?
Smallness is where God works.
Think about David facing Goliath. David is small. He trusts God in his smallness. And… David wins the day. He eventually becomes King of Israel. Then he sets up his son to build the first temple for God. It started small. God uses him to do something big.
Think about Jesus feeding the 5000+. Jesus asks his disciples for food. They come up with five pieces of bread & two fish. What does Jesus do? Feeds everyone. And they have 12 baskets of leftovers.
We could look at almost every story from the Word of God. Every hero of faith. Even the life & times of Jesus including his entry into the world reveal that for God, there is value in smallness.
So, in a world where bigger is better, take time to get small today.
Maybe you’ll see God take something seemingly small & do something big with it.
