Matthew 13 - Part 7

 

Read Matthew 13

What stands still yet move at 1000 mph?  Any stationary object at the equator.  Things move a little slower the farther they get from the equator.

What stands still yet moves at 67,000 mph?  Any stationary person or thing on the planet.  That’s how fast the earth moves through space.  I’m not sure who clocked it, but that’s the speed agreed upon by most scientists.

What stands still yet moves at 500,000 miles per hour?  Any stationary thing anywhere in our solar system.  That’s how fast the galaxy moves through the universe.  Speeds may vary in California.

What are the three fastest forms of spreading news or gossip?  Telegraph, telephone, tell a woman.  OK, that will surely get me blocked on Facebook and a few mean looks delivered in person.

Nothing is really stationary.  There is always movement or growth.  What’s the fastest-growing nonorganic thing on the planet?  Dirty laundry!  OK, if you have teenagers, parts of the laundry may have an organic component. 

People have been complaining about all this mask-wearing, but I put on a full hazmat suit every time that I go in the youth room.  Who knows what’s growing in there?

Do you want to know what really grows?  The kingdom of heaven.  It’s like the mustard seed that is so small that grows into a garden plant that rivals a small tree.

It’s like yeast that works its way through all the dough.

The kingdom of heaven is anything but static.  It grows.  We grow when we live in this kingdom.  We can live in a kingdom that God has opened to us now and grow in his grace even though we will continue to struggle in this sinful flesh.

In the profession, Jesus is Lord, we are saved.  But we must understand that salvation is not the finish line.  It is the starting blocks.  We take on the yoke of our Master and learn from him.  We grow in his ways and in so doing, live in the kingdom of heaven which grows within us.

One day, we will live in a kingdom that’s been in store for us since the creation of the world.  Today, we can live in a kingdom that grows more and more each day as we live in faith, hope, and love.

The kingdom of heaven is within us and it grows as we grow in God’s grace.

Long ago and not too far away, I was a counselor in a therapeutic community for inmates.  There was a program response to the following question:  How are you?

The answer to be given by all was growing. 

Christians should give a similar response for we too are growing as the kingdom of heaven grows within us and all around us.  We may live in a world full of trouble, but it is not so full that the kingdom of heaven cannot grow within it and within us.

How are you today?  Growing!

I grow in the kingdom and the kingdom grows in me.

How are you today?  Growing!

 

Amen.