Stories are powerful. They connect us to each other, to our ancestors, to the world, and to God.Jesus chose to teach by using stories. He told stories about simple things to communicate truth, the whole meaning of which was reserved for those closest to him. Yesterday, we looked at two of those stories (Mark 4:26-34).
The story of the sown seed tells us that God's Kingdom is exactly that...God's Kingdom. Sometimes we forget that and act as though we, by our own ingenuity or hard word, are responsible for Kindom growth. But we're not. The seed is God's...the ground is God's...the harvest is God's, not ours.
The story of the mustard seed tells us that although God's Kingdom may have started in obscurity, it will end in glory. Sometimes we get impatient with the progress being made and feel like giving up. But take heart. A day will come when the Kingdom's true greatness and power will be seen by all.
Mark uses these and other stories to create a gospel account. So are we. As Christians, the stories of our lives make statements not only about us, but about our experience with the Good News of the coming of the Kingdom of God in our lives. So what chapter did you add to your gospel account this week?
Maybe those stories didn't seem to have any definitive "gospel" quality to them. That's OK. Remember...God uses insignificant beginnings to accomplish great things.
Maybe the stories of your life had "gospel" quality, but you saw no result. That's OK, too. Remember...God uses His seed, in His ground, to produce His harvest.
Our duty is to go into the world, telling the stories of our life with God. For in this way, we become living gospels of Jesus Christ.
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