The Truth and Beauty: How the Lives and Works of England's Greatest Poets Point the Way to a Deeper Understanding of the Words of Jesus

by Andrew Klavan

The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed. That’s a metaphor. At its simplest, the metaphor tells us that the kingdom is a very small thing that can become a very great thing. But, of course, once you start to think about it, the meaning of the metaphor is far vaster and more complex than that. You have to plant a seed, tend it. Once it grows, it attracts more life: the birds in the tree. The meaning goes on and on, deeper and deeper. It’s a huge idea. You could think about it forever. If this weren’t so, we wouldn’t need to use a metaphor. We could simply say the kingdom is a very small thing, but it can become important. That just doesn’t do the trick. We need the metaphor to convey and experience the full meaning.