Martha Olawale

“He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree so that the birds come and perch in its branches.” Matthew 13:31-32

I wouldn’t say I liked going outside at night when we lived close to a forest because an Iroko tree was a few miles away from my parents’ house. The tree rose above the hills and spread its branches over other surrounding trees. Despite the distance, it towered over all the other trees in the forest; it was terrifying. The tree rose above the hills and spread its branches over other surrounding trees. It was high and wide and lived up to its name. Knowing the myth behind the Iroko tree in Yoruba land and seeing its majestic stance did not help. It was the boss in the forest, and my little girl’s mind feared it.

In the parable of the mustard seed, Jesus compared the Kingdom of Heaven to this little seed. He explained that the unassuming, tiny seed becomes the largest tree in the garden. Although it would look unimpressive in its infancy, as soon as it gains root and sprouts its first branch, it becomes a mustard tree, a force to be reckoned with in the league of trees.

Although most Iroko trees existed for years before my time, and I’ve never seen one planted, it’s fair to assume that, like the mustard tree, every living thing has a starting point. What I could see beyond my house did not become massive in a day; it grew into it. It was once a little tree trying to live up to its name as the king of the forest.

Before a tree became a refuge, giving shade, it was a seed. As a child of God, you are on a journey to becoming a resting place for your generation. Just because you don’t look the part yet does not mean God is not working His perfection in you. As Christians, we are not growing to be perfect; we are growing IN perfection because the nature of Jesus already makes us perfect. A day-old Iroko tree, just like the mustard tree, is called an Iroko from the moment it is planted, and as believers, we are declared perfect the day we become Christians.  However, even an Iroko can be uprooted, so as long as we stay rooted in Jesus, our destiny is defined.