One of today's chapters, Matthew 13, contains a slew of cryptic stories from Jesus. This section of Matthew's gospel is full of ambiguous parables, usually followed with a statement from Jesus encouraging his disciples to have "eyes to see and ears to hear" his message. Jesus is intentionally mysterious and vague, and yet he expects his followers to work hard in understanding his message. He doesn't make it easy on them.
And he doesn't make it easy on us. While the good news of Jesus can be boiled down to loving God and loving others, in practice, this is incredibly challenging. The Kingdom of God just isn't easy to comprehend and be a part of. It's like a seed that dies or gets choked out almost every time it's planted. It's like a hidden treasure that we must sell everything to acquire. It starts as small as a mustard seed but grows to the size of a tree. It's like yeast that works its way into every crack and crevice of our lives. But it's definitely not obvious, and it's definitely not easy to ascertain.
The challenge for us, as contemporary followers of Christ, is to always be on the lookout for the Kingdom of God. It won't always be easy to spot, but if we have eyes to see and ears to hear, we will begin to notice the subtle and simple, yet profound ways that God is active in the world, ushering the good news of redemption and restoration in to a world that has so often separated itself from the way and will of God.
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