Mark 4:30-34 – Mustard Anyone?

Read Mark 4:30-34

Jesus continues to use seeds to describe the kingdom of God. This is the third time he uses seeds in his analogies. That tells me that seeds would be something understood universally by many people. For me, when I first read the parable of the mustard seed, I had no idea how tiny those seeds were. It wasn’t until I was doing a children’s sermon years ago that I actually saw a mustard seed up close. You might just need a magnifying glass!

How fitting that Jesus would give the mustard seed such attention! Jesus was a master at making hard topics understandable. We can all picture something huge growing out of something small. Jesus says that’s what the kingdom of heaven is like.

Continue reading “Mark 4:30-34 – Mustard Anyone?”

James 5:1-6 – Rich People Beware

Read James 5:1-6

What a gloomy picture of rich people James portrays! While admittedly the description fits nicely for some, there are also plenty of “rich” people who have done very good things for the church and for the world with their wealth. James’ idea of rich people is rather tainted, isn’t it?

I found it interesting that while James harshly calls out rich people here, he doesn’t deliver any sort of direct call to change. He is simply telling them to lament their status before God. “Look here, you rich people: Weep and groan with anguish because of all the terrible troubles ahead of you.”

Continue reading “James 5:1-6 – Rich People Beware”
error

Enjoy this blog? Please spread the word :)