Reflection:  Proliferating Seed/Yeast

I overheard my granddaughter, as she was going off to sleep, retelling the story of Titch. Titch is a little guy that plants a tiny seed which, astonishingly, ‘grows and g-r-o-w-s and g—r—o—w–s and G-R-O-W-S and G—R—O—W–S…’ (You get the idea and delightfully so did two-year-old Evie.) Jesus’ pair of metaphors (one for men and one for women just to be fair) both begin with a whisper. Pianissimo. Very, very, very softly as if almost a secret. Planting a little seed and hiding a little yeast. Both expect results. Seeds? Hey, we’re talking to farmers here. Plant and harvest. That’s the way it works. And the woman, she’s mixing an infecting bug in enough dough for an army. She’s expecting guests and she needs this bread to do its thing.

You and I know God’s kingdom is growing. We trust his Spirit to be at work. But are we disquieted by the quiet? Uncomfortable with his agents of change? Unprepared for the baffling magnitude? If anything, expect the unexpected when it comes to how God is growing his kingdom. It will be bamboozling. It will astonish, confound, consume, unsettle, and thrill!

Prayer:  Sold out for your kingship and kingdom-come, Lord Jesus Christ, unsettle me to be more attentive to your radical renewal. May I spend my life as your available agent. Topped up with your Spirit, stretch and use me in practical holiness today – one prayer [pause and pray for a particular person/situation], one conversation [pause and ask for that opportunity today], one action [pause and consider a practical/extravagant opportunity to love] at a time.