31 He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field.32 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.” 33 He told them another parable. “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened.” (Matthew 13)
Matthew wraps up his examples of Jesus' parables with these two short pithy statements. The illustrations are found elsewhere, but the conclusions are here left to be thought through. The tiny mustard seed, over time, grows into a very large tree in proportion to its seed, and is useful. It is no weed (as opposed to the parable preceeding. Faith, over time, pays off, often in quiet, subtle ways. Leaven also works over time. The one who has it knows it is there, but often must wait for the results to be seen. The things we are praying for, and the people we are trusting God for, do not always happen over night or in some grand display of fireworks, but steady faith and consistent prayer does make a difference over time. Persist. Do not lose heart. Watch and wait.
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