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PRAYER FOR THE WEEK
Jesus, help me to have faith in you, so I can help make the world full of people of faith! Amen.

"The kingdom of God is like a mustard seed," said Jesus. "It's the smallest of all seeds, but when you plant it, it grows into one of the biggest trees in the world -- so big that all the birds of the sky can rest in its shade."

Some famous artists have said that, before they even started painting or sculpting something, they could picture the finished piece of art in their minds. They looked at a chunk of rock or an empty canvas and saw a beautiful sculpture of a boy or a colorful painting full of life.

Even little kids who color can make a circle and some lines and tell you a whole story about that picture. In their minds, it's a masterpiece!

This week's Gospel (Mark 4:26-34) is about looking at something small and unfinished and seeing something huge that affects the whole world.

In the Gospel story, Jesus compares the kingdom of God to a mustard seed. Mustard seeds are tinier than a drop of water, but they grow into enormous trees.

Jesus had only just started teaching people about God and asking them to follow Him -- planting a tiny mustard seed of faith. But, like an artist, He could already picture what the world would look like someday, with millions and millions of Christians trying their best to be faithful to God.

A little kid who shows you a simple drawing wants you to see what he or she is seeing: a beautiful picture of people and things, a whole story told in Crayola colors. Jesus wanted people to imagine the beauty of a world full of people getting close to God, and to have faith that it would happen. Then they could make it happen by following Him themselves.

An artist looks at nothing and pictures a masterpiece. A kid looks at paper and crayons and thinks of amazing artworks, too. Jesus hoped we'd look at the people around us and picture a kingdom filled with faith in Jesus -- a kingdom of God![[In-content Ad]]

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