Matthew 13:31-32
He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all your seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and perch in its branches.”
A number of years ago a young woman approached me after a Saturday night service and asked nervously if I had time to talk to her. I was a bit torn because I had a commitment to be somewhere else and was anxious to get to my car. There was also another person waiting to talk to me about something I knew wouldn’t take long so I said something like, “Yes, I have a few minutes, I’ll be with you in just a bit.” But then she said, “That’s OK, it doesn’t have to be today,” and she started to walk away. I said, “No, it’s OK, I have time, let’s talk.”
That began a pastoral conversation that has continued for some 5 years over two continents.
That night that young woman began to share her story with me. It was a heart-breaking story of pain, fear and loneliness that she had never told anyone before.
She knew the gospel; she knew Jesus loved her and forgave her; she just found it very difficult to feel that love and that forgiveness.
We talked a number of times over the next year and a half or so, then she had to return to her home in a different country.
But she still sends me emails several times a year to ask questions or to just pour out her heart. Sometimes her emails are hard to read and it’s hard to know what to say or how to encourage her.
But I got another email from her this past week, and part of it reminds me of what Jesus is trying to teach us about the gospel and about his kingdom.
She wrote:
I'm trying to take it day by day, I started with hour by hour,
hopefully by next year it will be week by week. I still fall everyday, but I'm not breaking anything so I just get back up... I try to laugh more, be more positive and never blame anything on my past. I've had enough time to heal and the mistakes I make now are new mistakes. They are my mistakes. I love God and I want to know Him, my faith will not be shaken and I will fight till the end to meet Him one day face to face.
I think you understand how difficult it was for me to talk to someone. God sent me all the way to North Aurora to find the place where I would feel safe enough to talk to someone. Thank you for listening, please never stop praying for me.
I thank God everyday for placing FBCG in my life. I hope one day I could give you all as much as you have given me.
I think that’s what Jesus is talking about when he says:
Though it is the smallest of all your seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and perch in its branches.
That young woman was like a lost and wounded bird that needed a safe place to find rest and nourishment. She found that place here...a tree that is the result of a tiny seed planted 119 years ago.
To change analogies, she is one more acorn produced by the oak tree that is FBCG. One more acorn that, when planted, has the potential to produce many, many more acorns.
That is the kingdom of heaven.
Pastor Brian Coffey
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