This morning, I'd like to look at two small parables. You can find these parables in Luke 13:18-21.

"He said therefore, 'What is the kingdom of God like? And to what shall I compare it? It is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his garden, and it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air made nests in its branches.'
And again he said, 'To what shall I compare the kingdom of God? It is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, until it was all leavened.'"

There are some similarities in these parables. We see both including a human character. However, the main characters are the mustard seed and the leaven.

Both of these items are small items. In today's scientific world, we know that mustard seeds are not the smallest seeds. They were common in the New Testament Jewish world and would have been the smallest common seed.

There is a significant similarity that I would like to highlight. Both of these parables are metaphors for the kingdom of God. This brings a significance to these one verse parables.

Think about it for a moment. God's kingly reign was embodied in Jesus– a poor carpenter from Nazareth. Then, He leaves His mission to a ragtag band of former fishermen, a tax collector, and the like.

Isn't that exactly the way God works? God takes the insignificant and does something great. This is the way God works- from creation to today. He tells us, "Don't miss the little."

My challenge for you? In a world obsessed with 'bigger is better', the followers of Jesus plant mustard seeds and hide leaven. Why? Because we know God can do more with little than we can do with much.

I pray that you trust God with whatever seed you are planting- no matter how small you think it might be.