The Mustard Tree

We are all familiar with the verses found in Matthew 13:31-32 where Jesus said, “The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.” Jesus often used the mustard seed in His teachings, so let’s take a deeper look into this remarkable tree.

The mustard seed, in all of Jesus’s examples, represents our faith. As our Lord said, it is the smallest of seeds. Yet from the moment when we first believed that Jesus is the Christ, we did so through a mustard seed of faith. Our faith at the time, though seemingly large, was in reality small compared to what it could potentially grow into. As with the mustard seed, there was great potential in that smallest level of faith.

Here are a few facts about the mustard tree. 

One of the most astonishing features of the mustard tree is its rapid growth. From a tiny mustard seed, it can grow into a substantial shrub or small tree in a relatively short time frame, often reaching its full height of 20 feet within a few years.

Mustard trees are unique in their ability to adapt to varying environments and soil types. They have deep roots that make them resistant to droughts and they can also grow in poor soils.

Its dense foliage, along with its fruit-bearing capacity, makes the mustard tree a biodiversity hotspot. Birds, insects, and small mammals are attracted to its branches and berries, creating a mini-ecosystem around it.

Now let’s look at our faith. At the moment of our salvation, Jesus sends us the Holy Spirit to be with us for the rest of our lives. Part of the Spirit’s objective is to build our faith. Every pushback we encounter, every challenge to our faith, every struggle and difficulty we face in life is an opportunity for spiritual growth. We must understand that our faith is intended to grow rapidly, but to do so we must trust completely in Jesus, regardless of whatever challenges or struggles we are facing.

As our faith grows, we find that we can survive life’s adversities with our faith intact. We see how the past trials and tribulations in our life have given us deeper spiritual roots. We understand that the depth and strength of those roots help us to be more resistant to face life challenges. We find that we can boldly face those challenges regardless of the soil or environment we find ourselves in.

Also, as our faith grows, our lives change. We see how the fruit of the Holy Spirit begins to manifest more in our life. We realize that the beneficiary of our Lord’s spiritual fruit are those we meet and those we care about. We are humbled to see that those around us are attracted to our kindness, our forgiving nature, our patience, our mercy and our grace to others.  

Perhaps Jesus was using the mustard seed in His teachings to prompt us to look at the tree itself. It grew so quickly from the smallest of seeds. Its roots are deep and its branches are wide and inviting. The mustard seed and the tree it becomes are all beautiful examples of our evolving life as we grow our faith in Jesus.

Let us pray that the Holy Spirit will continue to increase our faith in God. 

Pray that we are strengthened each day to boldly walk our journey of faith. That our faith would be an example to others and that the fruit of the Spirit would flow through us and bless all those we encounter.

May we remember that the faith of a disciple of Christ is intended to grow strong and have deep roots. It is remarkable to see how our faith has the ability to grow so quickly over just a few years. Yet let us never forget that its growth will only occur when it is challenged and tested. So let us embrace every challenge and boldly face every test. Knowing that the testing of our faith is in fact causing our spiritual roots to sink deeply into our soul.