Been thinking about how the Kingdom grows lately. These thoughts have mostly come from my readings in Jesus for President and my aggravation with some poison ivy that’s sprouted up in our backyard.  Jesus says that Kingdom growth a lot like a mustard tree.

I hear that Jews were not too fond of mustard trees.  There were actually Jewish laws against them being planted in gardens.  The reason why is that they essentially took over the area, planting and sprouting and generally being a nuisance.  Those stubborn little bushes would pop up and ruin all the plans and purposes the farmer had for the garden.  No matter how hard you tried, you couldn’t stop those tiny little seeds from spreading and getting into your garden!

Growing up, I always heard nice sermons about the remarkable power of a mustard seed - tiny as it is, growing into a giant redwood or something.  The only problem is, when you actually look at a mustard tree, its pretty scraggly.  Check out this mustard “tree” below that is busting out of some concrete in Bethany:

This insidious viral plant spreads like wildfire and is under no one’s control.  It breaks all kinds of rules about how plants are supposed to behave.  And what’s more - the fowl are supposed to take refuge in its branches!  This is not the cedars of Lebanon that Israel hoped the Kingdom of God would produce.  This looks more like a renegade sleeper cell just waiting to spread its potent seeds of destruction all over your lawn - and attract and house the worst kind of flying beasts - the kind that poop all over your car and hang out with the wrong crowd.

If we think about the Kingdom of God as Jesus taught about it, what might change in how we live as followers of Christ?  It might mean we see growth as slow and insignificant - rather than splashy and impressive.  It might mean that we are not just on earth to be “nice” to everyone and everything, but rather to help upend and nonviolently overthrow the prevailing systems that dominate and oppress humanity and creation.  Maybe it means we spread like a disease, or a terrorist group, or a clan of starfish. (an earlier post on that here).

The neat thing about mustard seeds is how potent they are!  But you have to crush them up for them to be of any use.  The Anabaptists used to talk about how everything on earth finds its purpose through suffering.  The delicious lettuce you eat in your salad started as a seed in the ground, and grew slowly to produce a head.  It was picked, shipped, and carried to your dinner table, where you rip it apart, cut it into pieces, and then grind at it down till it is no more.  And yet, if you hadn’t done that, the lettuce’s purpose in life would have been in vain.  What if the Christian’s purpose is not so much different from that lettuce, or that mustard seed?  What if Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection was not just a one-time event for our esoteric sins, but actually provided an avenue and a model for us to experience our greatest purpose in life?

Jesus moves beyond mustard to talk about yeast mixed into dough, weeds mixed in with wheat, good and junky fish of all kinds mixed up in a net…all stuff that is a recognizable annoyance in the lives of his audience. It’s interesting that Jesus waits till the end (of time) to call out what is the weed and what is the wheat.

To the some, the mustard-tree Kingdom looks like a weed - to Christ, to the world, and to the marginalized, it is the bread of heaven!

Joel News continues to inspire! Read this article below about the commitment of Chinese children to their LORD:

Sister Jing, who has taught children and trained Sunday school teachers all over China, shared the following inspiring account how children in one province in China stood firm in their faith when they were arrested by officials.

Sunday school was in full swing for more than 30 children when the sound of vehicles interrupted the class. Before the children even had time to put away their books, public Security Bureau officers burst into the room, confiscated ‘incriminating evidence’, and unceremoniously herded the children into a van.

By now the children knew what was happening. Their teachers had warned them it might happen one day and had taught them what to do. Now their time of testing had come.

As the van sped toward the police station, the children clung together to steady themselves. Then one child started singing. Before long, the van was filled with song as all the children enthusiastically joined in - much to the annoyance of the officials in the van.

Upon arrival at the police station, the children marched bravely into the interrogation room still singing, “In the name of Jesus, we have the victory.”

This was not the cowering group of children the police interrogator had anticipated! He began to threaten the children, telling them they would have to write “I do not believe in Jesus” one hundred times before he would release them. Instead, the defiant children wrote, “I believe in Jesus today. I will believe in Jesus tomorrow. I will believe in Jesus forever!”

Unprepared for such a strong stand from young school children, the officials weren’t sure how to respond. In exasperation, they called the children’s parents. When the parents arrived, they were told the children would be released only if the parents said they were not Christians. Because many of the parents were not believers, they readily affirmed they didn’t believe in Jesus and took their children home.

But when a widowed believer came to pick up her twin sons, she refused to deny Jesus. The officers threatened her, “If you do not deny Jesus, we will not release your sons!” Unshaken, the widow replied, “Well, I guess you will just have to keep them, because without Jesus, there would be no way for me to take care of them!” Exasperated by continued, unexpected resistance to their threats, the officials said in disgust, “Take your sons and go!”

We thank God for stories like this because we know that children are the future of the Church.