More Than Skin Deep

Mark 4:30-32 – The kingdom of God … is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds of the earth; yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make their nests in its shade.

Evidently, judging from Jesus' parable of the mustard seed, God looks at things differently than we do. Is that surprising? What we regard as common, small, of little account, God regards as miraculous, wonderful, what the kingdom is all about.

How odd of God to choose a nobody like Jesus, like you and me, but that is exactly what God has done and continues to do.

God sees, inside you, the wonderful potential you represent, the hope you bring to the world, the difference you may make simply by being you. When all the sons of Jesse were brought before the prophet Samuel, the family could only see the outside. Their impression was only skin deep, but God went deeper, down to the very heart and soul of each one, and there, deep under the skin, God found in David a heart that loved the Lord, and sought to serve no matter what. That alone made a nobody a somebody!

Prayer: Lord, make me a channel of your peace. You know I am not great or powerful or influential, but you have created me and to your glory I live this day. Teach me your will and guide me in your way, so that I can share your love and your life today and every day. Amen.