Day 295 · Thursday, October 22
"He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.”"MATTHEW 13:31-32
Hello, my friend… so glad you're with me today. This is By God's Call — day 295, The Smallest Seed.
"He put another parable before them, saying, 'The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.'" Matthew 13:31-32.
Jesus chooses this image on purpose. In that region, the mustard seed was known as the smallest seed people would plant. Tiny. Nearly invisible in the palm of a hand. And it's exactly this seed that Jesus uses to describe the kingdom of heaven. Not an already-grown tree, not an already-formed army — a seed too small to impress anyone.
Notice too that the parable does not stop at the seed. Someone acts: "a man took and sowed it in his field." The kingdom's growth doesn't happen by accident. Someone has to take that small seed — that act of faith that seems insignificant — and actually plant it. The concrete action is part of the story, not an afterthought.
And then comes the contrast Jesus wants you to feel: from the smallest of seeds, it becomes larger than all the garden plants, a real tree. That leap — from almost nothing to something immense — is no coincidence in the parable. It is the very heart of how God works. He delights, He takes pleasure, in taking what seems too small for the world to notice and turning it into something that exceeds every reasonable expectation.
And look at the ending of the parable: the birds of the air come and nest in its branches. The kingdom does not grow just to be admired, just to look nice in an isolated field. It grows in order to shelter. To give a resting place to whoever needs a nest. The purpose of the growth was always to welcome others in.
But between the seed sown and the tree full of nests, there is a season — a season the parable doesn't describe in detail, but one we know exists. A season of waiting, often invisible, when nothing seems to be happening on the surface. And it is exactly in that season that faith is tested the most. You planted. You don't see anything growing yet. But God is at work, underground, where eyes cannot reach.
My friend, maybe you have an act of faith — a word, a prayer, a kindness, a step of obedience — that you have been putting off because it seems too small to make a difference. Too small to be worth doing. But today's parable exists to remind you: God does not measure the beginning by its size. He measures it by the faithfulness of the one who plants.
So today, identify that small act you've been putting off. And do it. Today. Trusting that the growth does not depend on the size of the seed — it depends on who is tending it.
Stay close to God. Pray — then act. I'll see you tomorrow, my friend.