阅读经文 

在一月时，我会翻阅种子销售目录、选择和购买一些种子，准备春天时在我们的园圃栽种。我们需要运用想像力，才能预想到那些种子长成后的样子；例如，无论你如何细心察看一颗西红柿种子，也不能看到它变成丰盛的枝叶和结满果子的景象。你若栽种它，它就会长大，过一段时间，你才能真的看到枝叶和果子了。

尽管种子的开始看来是如此微不足道，但你只要把它种下，便会发生一个戏剧性的改变。

神的国开始时就像种子那样看来没有什么重要性，耶稣勉励祂的门徒，不要因此灰心沮丧，祂教导他们，不要单看芥菜种的微小，乃要把目光放远，去看它将会变成的样子；它将会成为高大的灌木，长出大枝来，可以容得下飞鸟，成为荫庇它们的栖身之所！真是奇妙啊！

这个比喻为耶稣的门徒带来很大的鼓舞，因为他们要到后来才能看到神藉着耶稣的死和复活所成就的事：耶稣就像一粒被种在地里的种子，然而祂却破土而出，祂的国到处发出枝桠，好叫万国万民都领受恩惠。

基督的门徒啊，你们应当欢欣鼓舞！神的国此时的规模，并不代表计划完全实现的景象！

In January I look through seed catalogs and choose seeds to buy for planting our garden in the spring. It takes a sense of vision to see what those seeds will become. For example, no matter how closely you look at a tomato seed, you cannot actually see the plant or the fruit that it will develop. But if you plant it and it grows, after some time you will actually see the plant and its fruit.

A seed seems to make for such a small, insignificant beginning, but just planting it can lead to a dramatic transformation.

Jesus encourages his disciples not to be discouraged by the seeming insignificance of the seedlike beginning of the kingdom of God. He urges us to look beyond the mustard seed to see what happens to it. It will grow into a tall shrub that will have branches large enough to welcome and shelter birds! Amazing!

This parable offers great encouragement to Jesus’ disciples, who only later saw glimpses of what God would accomplish through the death and resurrection of Jesus: a single seed would be sown, and yet Jesus would emerge from the ground and his kingdom would begin spreading its branches everywhere so that people of all nations could enjoy its benefits.

Be encouraged, disciple of Christ! The present size of the kingdom of God is not the whole story!