A LITTLE IS ENOUGH

PRAYER FOR THE WEEK
Jesus, teach me to accept that what I have is enough — and to use my “little bit of faith” wisely! 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.”

Kids hear a lot about sharing. That’s because it’s easy to be greedy: to take more than you need; to want what someone else has; or to keep what you have all to yourself, even when you see that other people need it, too.

It’s not surprising that, when you like something, you want more of it. Being greedy can be a kid’s first instinct! But, in this week’s Gospel (Mark 4:26-34), Jesus talks about a little of something being enough.

Even when you’re hungry an hour before dinner, a snack is probably enough food to keep you going until it’s time for the “real meal.” Even when a friend gets the coolest new phone and you’re jealous, you can probably look at your phone and admit that it does what you need it to do, even if it isn’t brand-new.

Often, a kid can get so distracted by wanting other things that you don’t see that what you have may actually be enough. In the Gospel story, Jesus talked about faith and working to build “the kingdom of God:” all the people on Earth who believe in God and try to do good in the world.

While we all admire people who have a lot of faith and do big, impressive things, Jesus said no one needs to be like that in order to get close to God. Just like the tiniest mustard seed grows into one of the world’s biggest trees, a little bit of faith and work can be the start of better things.

Being greedy might be instinctive, but you don’t have to follow that path. You can say, “I am lucky to have a little snack” or a working phone, and let the rest go. You have enough. You even have enough faith to do whatever you need to!