“The Big 5”: Take 2

My pastor recently preached about the parable of the mustard seed found in Luke 13: 18-19. A short parable, fitting for the size of this tiny seed, that goes like this:

Then Jesus asked [to the Pharisees and the people], “What is the kingdom of God like? What shall I compare it to? It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his garden. It grew and became a tree, and the birds perched in its branches.”

When you Google what the word parable means, the definition that comes up is ” a simple story used to illustrate a moral or spiritual lesson, as told by Jesus in the Gospels.” Side note: I love that Google recognizes that JESUS is known for telling these enlightening stories. Back to the point: this parable compares the Kingdom of God to a mustard seed being planted and growing into a big, strong tree, meaning the Kingdom starts small, in the heart, and expands to other people as it given the right nutrients.

Pastor Russ then gave a brief history of the expansion of the Gospel by explaining that it started with one man, Jesus (the Son of God), moved into the hearts of twelve men (Jesus’ disciples), traveled the region(s) and was heard by thousands of people but only grew in the hearts of a few hundred (the 400-500 witnesses of Jesus’ ascension into Heaven), and then branched out to the rest of the world as we know it today.

One seed -> Big tree

As the sermon progressed, pastor read my mind (and probably the minds of lots of others in the service) and brought a well-known Scripture into the mix that also uses a mustard seed for comparison in Matthew 17: 20:

” He [Jesus] replied… Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”

Now, I’ve never really attempted to say this to a mountain (maybe my faith is tinier than a mustard seed in that case), but the point Jesus is trying to make here is if you have just a little bit of faith in Him, he will take that and use it for big things- bigger than you thought possible.

Take 2: Prayer

If you read my last post “Numero Uno,” you know that the first thing that anchors my soul is Scripture, going to the source of Truth so that I can base my thinking on what is real. The second thing that tethers me is birthed from the first: prayer. Prayer has taken on a very broad connotation in our modern society, so when I say pray, I don’t mean thinking to myself or talking out loud with nothing to hear me, just to put it out there; I mean conversing with the Lord God, Creator of all, who cares for me and wants to listen to what I have to say and feel.

Talking with God has been something I’ve done since I was seven, and as time has gone on, like the mustard seed, my faith in God has grown. But nothing grew my faith in prayer quite like it did when God moved a mountain in my life- when He did what I thought was impossible.

Time travel with me back to my childhood, where the story begins. My parents divorced when I was six years old. There’s not one reason why, as relationships are complex, but a glaring one was my father’s alcoholism. When he was drunk, my dad turned from a charismatic, charming man into an angry, vengeful person. He never was physically abusive, but he could be verbally, and at the very least, agitated. Once I figured this out, strain #1 was introduced into his and I’s relationship.

He got remarried when I was seven and moved to Mississippi where my step-mom was, which left my mom, little brother, and I in Texas. Being so far away, he and my mom didn’t have the usual divorce agreement for custody where he would get us every other weekend and shared holidays and such. They settled for twice a year: during the summer for a week or two and a swap between Christmas and Thanksgiving. Thus began strain #2.

Strain #3 came over time as I got older and could hold more intelligent conversations with my dad. God has always been central in my life, and I’ve always been taught the importance of telling others about the hope of Christ. Not knowing whether my dad was a Christian or not, I would strike up conversations about the Bible, God, and church. He was upfront when I asked him if we could go to church together when I visited by saying no but gave me an open door to invite Cheryl, my step-mom. And the conversations about Biblical topics didn’t go much better- he would always try to one-up me in Biblical knowledge because he had been raised in the church. The talks were unpleasant and I soon stopped trying.

Another thing that drove a wedge was his bitterness toward my mom. He would talk very ill of her, which meant I would defend her. Strain #4 was like trying to shoo away an annoying gnat that just kept coming back.

So by the time I’m in high school, I have a very formed opinion of my father and had been praying for him throughout all these years. But something changed in my high school years: he became worse. He had totally immersed himself into a party lifestyle: booze and girls and all. I lost all respect for him and resolved that if God was going to answer my prayers, it wouldn’t be a for a very long time, if at all. I prayed halfheartedly every now and then when I felt convicted about the fact that I hadn’t for awhile. But after years of watching and waiting, I was done waiting. I decided that I had to accept my dad the way he was and the way our relationship was- nonexistent. When I thought about the future and about kids, I asked myself: will he be someone I want around my children? Probs not.

BUT GOD

Things began to change during the beginning of 2013. As I talked with my dad, he seemed… different. Nicer, kinder- more into God? Whoa nelly. Who is this man? I didn’t know what the reason for this change was, and I was skeptical at first. How long is this gonna last? I thought. But it stayed. A couple months into this newness I discovered the truth: my dad had been charged with a third-degree felony because he hit a cyclist, nearly killing him, while intoxicated.

This was my dad’s wake-up call. It altered his entire perspective on life.

In San Antonio, as in most places, the court system was backed up, and it took a year and half of waiting before the conviction was made. During that time, my dad lost everything: his wife divorced him, his savings were depleted on lawyer fees, his freedom was striped was him (my dad’s BIG on freedom), his job was taken away, and he had few people to turn to due to bridges burned through the years. But he gained EVERYTHING in Christ.

Losing everything made him realize what was really important: Jesus. He had tried all of his life to find satisfaction in the material: alcohol, women, music, partying. He realized that true fulfillment isn’t found in any of those. He started going to church, reading/ studying Scripture intently, praying… he became a man I had always dreamed my father would be. For the first time in my life, I was able to talk about the most important subject (God) with my dad. He actually started teaching me things about Scripture and Biblical history!

The mountain had been moved!

God took my tiny, mustard seed sized faith and prayers and turned it into a beautiful tree, rooted firmly in his Word. When I had long given up and forgotten, He did not.

The story doesn’t end there. Consequences ensued, and my dad was sentenced to prison for 3-5 years (two weeks before my wedding day, I might add!) where he would be tried and tested to abandon this new found love and hope. But he remained steadfast. And our relationship grew strong.

Three years in prison and two paroled years later, he openly tells His story, putting God on display and giving Him glory for his life trajectory alteration. He is not ashamed because he knows that had God not allowed the terrible to happen, he would not have been able to experience the miraculous. Prayer works.

Have you seen God move mountains in your life through prayer? Is there some mustard seed you’re waiting for Him to bring to fruition?