2002.7.21. Metaphors for Heaven(1) - Rev. Chan Young Jang

Why is the Kingdom of God like a Mustard Seed?

Matthew 13:31-32

When we look at the words of Christ in the New Testament, we learn that the Kingdom of God is in general three things.

The first is that Kingdom of God is not something to achieve; we have already realized it. After receiving Jesus Christ, after Christ enters into our soul, at the moment that God's words are sowed in our hearts, the Kingdom of God has already begun. It is not a place that we go to after we die, but rather it begins within us in this world. We can experience it on our own or we can never feel it but in any event, heaven has already begun within us.

This is it. We are carried over to life from death. However, secondly, according to God's word, the Kingdom of God is not only something that we have already achieved, but that we are now completing within ourselves. This is the "present" Kingdom of God. No matter how many sins or wrongdoings I have committed or how much pain I have experienced in my life, the Kingdom of God is being realized in me through my current life and cannot be taken away from me. We can experience the Kingdom of God through our faith and through our life. It is something that we can touch and feel.

Thirdly, according to the word of Christ, Kingdom of God is to be completed in the day. We do not know what kind of perfection the Kingdom of God is. However, the Bible says that it will be completely realized on that day in all its glory. Therefore on that day in heaven, the Bible says that God's people, God's disciples will live a life that shines like the sun.

When we try to summarize this, the Kingdom of God has already begun and now is growing within us. However, not everyone knows about Kingdom of God perfectly. That is to say, the painting of Kingdom of God has already begun but no one knows how it will end. However, someday it will be realized. Therefore, the person who understands the Kingdom of God is one who experiences it now. He is someone who enjoys it now.

However, today Christ compares this wonderful heaven to this small and insignificant mustard seed. Someone planted one of these very small mustard seeds in their land. But after this seed grew, it became a tree that grew more wonderfully than an ordinary tree. After becoming a tree, its branches spread out widely and birds came to build a nest on it. Christ spoke these words. This is what the Kingdom of God is. Truly, the mustard seed is not the smallest of seeds. However, back then Jesus symbolized the mustard seed as something very small. Therefore back then, people compared very small things to mustard seeds. So, Jesus Christ in Mathew 17:20 said, "Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, 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. Nothing will be impossible for you.'" Here Christ points to this very small faith and says it is like a mustard seed. However, in today's scripture, after one very small mustard seed grows up, it becomes a tree that is greater than all things. The height of a mustard tree is a little higher than the height of a man on a horse. When a mustard tree grows to as high as 4 meters in the forest, birds can build a nest there.

If this is so, what is a metaphor for today's mustard seed? God's kingdom has not suddenly risen. The Kingdom of God is not a mysterious land. The Kingdom of God began in a small way but we cannot imagine how it will be completed.. In Ezekial 31:6, "All the birds of the air nested in its boughs, all the beasts of the field gave birth under its branches; all the great nations lived in its shade." God's kingdom began in a small way but we see that it became a kingdom where in the end all nations were able to gather. This means that the churches, the symbols of the kingdom of God, began in a small way but later spread across the entire world. This is the whole metaphor of the mustard seed.

"From the very small place we begin and without being able to imagine, realize this great thing. And at this great place that we achieve, many birds will come and build a nest." Through these words, we come to learn some truths.

First, after God's kingdom begins small and it harvests much. It begins in a small way but truly it ends exorbitantly. Generally, many people know this and are able to envision great things. They love mankind, and they work for mankind but there are many times when they are unable to love the person next to them. They love people but there are many times when they cannot love the wife next to them. Truly this is an illusion. Greatness does not begin from a great place but rather from a small place.

Christ emphasized that those who are loyal to very small things can also be loyal to big things. Who are those who are loyal to small things. Those are the ones who do the same work that no one notices or cares or takes pride in. It is easy to serve in a big church. However, they say that it is difficult to serve in a small church. It is easy to serve city churches. However, it is not easy for people to serve in country churches. It is easy to preach in a famous place. But preaching in the wilderness without any people is both lonely and difficult.

But Christ was in a very small place. He was not in the midst of a lot of people but rather in a lonely place with no one around. This was the Lord's thought, his way. Christ blessed one widow's two copper coins. However, he never had an interest in people who sported their golden ornaments. Ordinary people set a high value on those who are good, splendid, great in appearance, successful people who have a high position in this world. However, in the Kingdom of God, it is not so.

Christ also said "Giving a cup of water to a child is like giving one to me." Giving a cup of water to someone small whom no one takes care of or is interested in is like giving one to Christ." Here is the true meaning of Kingdom of God.

Christ was born in a manger in the small village of Bethlehem in Judea. He was not born in a place full of splendor. The history of Christ began with Jesus who was born in a very small place and grew up in a small village in Galilee. Jesus' 12 disciples were fishermen with no position or academic credentials. Their numbers were few. However, Christ spent all his life ministry with them. Christ was not in the middle of a crowd of 5000 or 10,000 people. He was not like a dignitary. Christ was with a prostitute; he was with criminals and tax collectors.

We try really hard to enter a good school, a top rate school, a company everyone recognizes. We do not make time for things that are boring but for things that are interesting. We want to be with so-called interesting people but dislike even spending time with those who are so-called boring. We want to be successful in all these things but then why is the Kingdom of God missing in our heart? It is because these are not the thoughts or ways of Christ. How much do we live a life that is far way from the Kingdom of God? We realize that the Kingdom starts from our care for those who are poor, ill, mistreated and forgotten.

Do you know how small the early church was at the beginning? The early church began with 120 people who were either chased away, jailed, or even eaten up by lions or running away from persecution. However, while receiving much distress and harsh abuse, the early church grew like weeds. 3000 gathered. Later, it became 5,000 for just men. It reached the point where you could not count the number of groups. This is the way of the Kingdom of God.

The gospel spread in this way that reached the America which is now the most powerful country. People, what about our country? Let us remember that we were able to find a golden time in Korea thanks to Christian missionaries like Appenzeller and Underwood who came to Korea 100 years ago. The Word can change people like this; we see how the Word changes the history of the world according to the direction of the gospel that moves to people, society, and community. This is Kingdom of God. Kingdom of God grows like this.

"Your start may be small but later it will become great." We do not know how much we will grow. Only if the seed is planted, we cannot even imagine how with that power of God's kingdom in me, we can live such a great life. This has nothing to do with age. This has nothing to do with education. Of course, it has no relations to the size of your possessions. If the seed of God falls to the ground, God will grow.

This is not my worldly expectation or plan. This is God's plan and God's message. Please do not deplore that you do small work. Please do not think that you are being treated poorly because you have been assigned small work. When we are assigned small work that others sometimes do not do, we have the chance to taste the Kingdom of God. Don't despair if at work, you are in a position that has nowhere to go. That there is no place below you means that you have only to go up. Don't be distressed if your salary is small compared to others… Kingdom of God is a place for growing. Kingdom of God is a place for hope. Kingdom of God's miracle is about to happen to those who are entrusted with very small work.

Second, the truth of the mustard seed metaphor is that Kingdom of God is quietly but constantly growing. Kingdom of God is not suddenly growing. When a person receives the power to speak in Tongues and experience the amazing grace, the next day he thinks he became an angel. This is not at all true. Faith does not grow like that. God's words work within us constantly, without being seen. Just as Jesus grew taller and wiser, we too can change into a holy person. As long as God's words are within us, although we cannot see it, we grow and change constantly.

Therefore Christians are not attached to the past. They do not boast about the traditions of their church. We are not yesterday's people and we are not people of the past. Today is important and growing is important. More important than how much you grew yesterday is that you are growing now. Just as a snake sheds its skin, we throw out our past and leave behind our old self, and we are born anew. Like an eagle, we take off anew to the sky.

Even though we have sinned in the past, and have wrongdoings and scars, it is not important. We shed them off. Just as we remove our clothes, we throw away our mistakes. This was important in the past. These were our old clothes. But we are not confined by the past. Because of this, we can throw it away. We are born again. In old days, the cult groups that were a source of trouble asked "When are Christians born again?" If you did not know the time and date, you heard often that you could not be reborn and that you had to lead again a faithful life in their church. But it was important to recognize that knowing the exact time of my salvation has nothing to do with my salvation; more important is the response to the question, "I am reborn everyday." As I deny myself everyday, that I am reborn everyday is the principle of God's kingdom.. Everyday we change until we resemble His Son. We will become perfect like God is perfect. Like God's holiness, we will become holy. Through our growth and change, we come to resemble the mustard seed. Growth that we cannot see, but changes everyday.

If this true, what then is the most important source of this growth and change? It is life itself. Inside the mustard seed there is life. The Kingdom of God is the place that brings about growth and change. Life swallows death, makes exist things that don't exist. Where there is life, there is no despair and darkness.

Is the life of Christ within us? Is the life of Christ growing in you? Yes. Within us the life of Christ is growing. We cannot see it, and sometimes we cannot feel it, but it is growing constantly and consistently. And eventually it will grow into a forest.

Missionaries Appenzeller and Underwood came to Korea 100 years ago and sowed the seeds. Already through several previous missionaries, their summary report of Korea was recorded like this, "In Korea, there is an extreme caste system and a large gap between rich and poor; almost all cannot read and are primitive people with lice in their hair. This is not a place where the Gospel can enter." Therefore the so-called successful and smart elite missionaries passed by Korea and went instead to Japan and China. Despite this, They (Appenzeller and Underwood) did not give up on Korea. And 100 years later, like today, Koreans are spread all over the world building churches and worshiping God, bearing fruit beyond the understanding of the people of this world. Evangelists who search and spread the Gospel in desolute and poor country villages; missionaries who live in order to spend a lifetime spreading the Gospel in countries of different cultures and languages. They devote their lives and die for those very lowly people without voices, for the unnamed, for the unseen and even the unworthy.

Hudson Taylor, his dedication changed China. William Carey, his devotion changed India. Do you know C.T. Sturd? He was one of the so-called 7 Great People who came out of Cambridge. After graduating from Cambridge, he devoted himself as a missionary giving up the title of a duke that was bestowed upon him. Afterwards along with Hudson Taylor, he went to China and settled there spreading the Gospel. He then let Taylor take care of China and went himself to Africa where no one before had entered and spent the rest of his life spreading the Gospel until his death due to malaria. Now there are only two pictures remaining of this person. One is the thatched hut where he died alone; the other is the 3 storied mansion in London that he inherited from his parents. He had all the qualifications and opportunities to enjoy his life but he gave all this up. He could have lived a noble and splendid life more than others but he chose instead a small hut in Africa. Because of them, the Gospel was spread through Korea, China, and Africa.

One day we will die. Think of all the people who will greet you in the Kingdom of God at that time. All the people born of this world who received everlasting life will surround you like clouds and offer glory, praise and worship to God. Let's imagine the scene. Hebrew 12:1 says, "Therefore since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses." This is how it is described. Unless a grain of wheat falls and dies, it will not bear many fruits.

We must change. We must grow. The life of Christ must grow within us. If the seed of life does not grow within us, our heart might be like a thorny field. But if the seed of life grows, our heart will be a fertile field. The Kingdom of God does not grow quickly. It does not grow noticeably. The kingdom always grows quietly. Let us look at the plants. They receive lots of sun during the day and grow quietly at night. Although we do not see it, we grow and change little by little every day.

Do not be disappointed if you do not change all at one time. Because it is not noticeable, you should not conclude that you have not changed. Your big change is that you now worship God and listen to the sermon. You are now changing. You will search for the least splendid thing though you are now looking for the most splendid thing. The time will come when you will regard with pride the least famous just as you do for the most famous.

It is not that we do not now measure value with money but that we realize that we cannot measure it with money. We might change into a person that is devoted to a life that the rest of the world may laugh at. This is the evidence that kingdom of heaven is growing. Heaven is always abundant with fruit. Seeds and fruits cannot be compared. As you see the seed, have you thought of it bearing fruits? How can wonderful fruit come out of such a small seed? It is a mystery. However, because good farmers know, believe and have seen this, they without hesitation sow the seed, till the fields, water and take care of the land. God plants within us the seed of life and lets it grow.

People, I'd like to ask you one more time. Why did God compare the kingdom of God to a mustard seed?

A mustard seed! It is because it is the smallest seed but it is not small. Because there is life in this seed, if it falls and is planted, it will grow into a tree where birds can come and build a nest. It is because the kingdom of God begins like a small mustard seed.

Finally, I'd like to introduce a prayer whose title is "Mustard Seed Faith" that came from a booklet published by a handicap group in Korea called "The Mustard Seed."

Dear Father,
I have lived ignoring all things small, meager and lowly in this world.
Despite the fact that I also was like this, I wanted to run away from all these things because I hated them. I came to understand that I lived ignoring myself.

In truth, it was because I was small, lowly, had an inferiority complex.

Because when my face was not beautiful compared to others,
Because my upbringing was unhappy,
Because I could not learn,
Because I did not have money,
Because I was not famous,
Because I was not accomplished,
More than that, because I was not whole like other people,
I abused myself and lived among complaint and discontent.
But Lord, I understand why Christ compared your Kingdom to a mustard seed.

Now I began to realize that all the shortage and suffering was the start of the kingdom.
Despite the fact that reality is too harsh, I decided to obey accept my life.

At first, it was difficult to have this kind of heart but God helped me to experience the joy and peace that I did not know before.

Lord,
Now I am thankful of the situation I was given and although I am entrusted with small things, please let me work joyfully knowing that this is the start of heaven.

Through this, you help me to see heaven grow and please let me live everyday in heaven's joy bearing fruit.