Jesus said that the kingdom of God is like a mustard seed that a man took and planted in the garden. That reminds me of the time I visited my friend, Fred, at his farm in Iowa. It was planting time and half dozen tractors were racing around the field — plowing, harrowing, sowing, and spreading herbicide, pesticide, fertilizer. He looked at me and said, “All this is for naught if God does not send the rain.” Jesus knew the work that went into producing a crop, baking a loaf of bread. We live in a world where our vegetables and bread come wrapped in plastic. Faith cannot be wrapped in plastic — it grows and develops in the everyday experiences that make up our lives.
