Wednesday, March 23, 2022

The Kingdom is Like...

 

Wednesday, March 23, 2022

Then Jesus said, “What is the Kingdom of God like?  How can I illustrate it?  It is like a tiny mustard seed that a man planted in a garden; it grows and becomes a tree, and the birds make nests in its branches.”  He also asked, “What else is the Kingdom of God like?  It is like the yeast a woman used in making bread.  Even though she put only a little yeast in three measures of flour, it permeated every part of the dough.”                           Luke 13:18-21

Speaking in parables (metaphorical messages) Jesus compared the Kingdom of God to the way God created the tendency to grow in the natural world.  Mustard seeds are tiny; they quickly grow into a tree big enough for a bird to build its nest.  Yeast causes growth to a little pile of dough. 

But wherever God has created good, evil is certain to twist in the opposite direction.  When we moved to North Carolina 22 years ago our little ½ acre was mostly untamed, with large trees – mostly pines, cedars, and poplar.  Some of the trees were already dead; wild vines had wrapped the living trees when they were smaller and sucked the life out of them.  They looked impressive, tall, and stately but they were rotted, ready to fall.

This is Satan’s characteristic stock-in-trade; it is his unchanging nature to deceive and pervert.  Satan made his entrance on the stage of world drama by deceiving Eve in the garden; that serpent has never/will never change. 

Scripture tells us he will pay the ultimate penalty for his rebellion:

This great dragon—the ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, the one deceiving the whole world—was thrown down to the earth with all his angels.  Then I heard a loud voice shouting across the heavens, “It has come at last—salvation and power and the Kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ.  For the accuser of our brothers and sisters has been thrown down to earth—the one who accuses them before our God day and night.  Revelation 12:9-10

In other parables Jesus taught us about life, death, and learning to live a Godly life in His kingdom.  That living must continually be awake and aware, because every good thing God created has an evil counterfeit-lure stalking us in the shadows.  This is why, with all the wonderful teaching Jesus offered of the good things in God’s wonderful creation, He balanced the picture with reality-101 – the caution we must have about the pitfalls of temptation, sin, and the Devil’s way:

Look, I am sending you out as sheep among wolves.  So be as shrewd as snakes and harmless as doves.  Matthew 10:16

For You Today

There’s an old saying about how to be wise in dealing with others:

Trust, but Verify

As believers, we are to trust God, and test the spirits[1].  We must heed the lesson Adam and Eve were handed…Satan NEVER tells the truth!

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!  

[1] Title image: Wikimedia Commons   Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation©   

No comments:

Post a Comment