It is rightly said that he who looks back will not be reliable for the Kingdom of God. He who has put his hand to the plough must not look back. You need to look only ahead; forward, always forward, and, lifting up your heart to God, follow Christ.

Hurry, hurry—hurry to follow Christ. Life is short, and therefore hasten to follow Christ.

Grace works in the heart like leaven in dough

December 15, 1946

"And he said, 'What is the kingdom of God like? And to what shall I liken him? It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his garden; and it grew, and became a great tree, and the birds of the air took refuge in its branches." And he said, "To what shall I liken the kingdom of God?" It is like leaven, which a woman took and put into three measures of flour, until everything was leavened" (Luke 13:18-21).

How is this to be understood that the Kingdom of God is like a mustard seed, just as a large branchy shrub grows from a small mustard seed? What does that mean?

That's what it means. I have already spoken about the words of Christ: "The Kingdom of God is within you" (Luke 17:21), I explained what this word of Christ means. Remember well that the Kingdom of God is within you. Likening the Kingdom of God to how a tree grows from a mustard seed, the Lord depicts the process that takes place in the human soul, which has received the seed of the word of God.

About the word of God, the holy Apostle Paul in his Epistle to the Hebrews said amazing words: "The word of God is alive and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword: it pierces to the division of soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and judges the thoughts and intentions of the heart" (Hebrews 4:12).

Many, many times it happened that one word of God, one phrase of the Gospel, heard by a good person, produced a revolution in his soul. I will give just one example: this happened to one of the greatest saints of God, Anthony the Great. He was a noble, powerful, very rich man. Once in church he heard the words of the Gospel: "If thou wilt be perfect, go, sell thy possessions, and give to the poor" (Matt. 19:21). These words, this little seed of the word of God, produced an unexpected revolution in his soul: he immediately went and fulfilled what he had heard in church. He sold his possessions, which were very significant, and distributed them to the poor, while he himself went away for the rest of his life into a wild, terrible wilderness. The words were fulfilled in it: "The word of God is sharper than any two-edged sword."

How does the process of the growth of grace in man – the Kingdom of God within him – take place if he receives the seed of the word of God? This process is similar to that which occurs when grain is buried in the ground. The Lord sends His rains, the light and warmth of His sun. Under the grace-filled influence of God, God's seed grows and grows. This is done with God's help.

In the same way, the word of God, received by man, grows; grows like a seed received by a fruitful and cultivated land. It is extremely important that the land is fertile. If so, then the word of God will grow, like a mustard seed, under the influence of the grace of God, just as under the influence of the warmth and light of the sun, under the influence of rain, a mustard seed sprouts in the ground. It grows and bears luxuriant fruit in the soul of the person who receives it. His love grows more and more abundantly in his soul, his mercy, humility and meekness grow.

Gradually, the seed grows from the ground, small grass appears, a small stem, then a large trunk grows, the plant is covered with lush green foliage and finally gives fruit. So it is in the human heart. In this way he gradually grows, spiritually perfects, in this way his heart is purified, in this way his mind is enlightened and becomes to some extent similar to the mind of Christ. Christ directs all thoughts as they should, directs their intellectual, moral, and all spiritual growth. This is what it means to liken the Kingdom of God to a grain of mustard seed.

And what does the other assimilation mean? You put the yeast in the flour, leave it in a warm place, and an amazing process occurs. A small leaven, an insignificant lump of yeast, produces a great change: the whole dough is permeated with gas bubbles, rises, sours, and becomes the good dough from which you bake bread.