With these two parables, Jesus illustrates a central fact of God’s present kingdom on earth: It seems insignificant, but possesses vast potential. Like a tiny seed, or a little bit of yeast, God’s kingdom in this age hardly appears to the untrained eye. In almost any community, only tiny proportions of people really trust in Christ and seek to follow Him. Oh, there may be a large and prominent church building on the corner, or even a flourishing congregation of worshippers. But those whose lives really reflect the presence and power of God are small. As a result, we see corruption and even chaos in the world. Violence, theft, lying, oppression, and moral degradation fill the news, and rightly so. Evil men rule much of the world, apparently unrestricted by God. Meanwhile, however, a potent force quietly gathers its strength. The Spirit of God implants faith in His Word among more and more people. Around the globe, the number of believers grows daily. At certain times and in some places, Christians – acting like salt and light in the community – exercise influence beyond their numbers, as moral standards begin to change in the general population. Indeed, some countries, and even whole cultures, have been radically improved as a result of the spread of God’s Word among the masses. Jesus predicts that someday this process will come to full fruition. Not only partially and temporarily, but fully and permanently, the entire globe will be decisively transformed by the kingdom of God. Until that time, believers go about their daily tasks, asking God to cause His name to be glorified, His kingdom come, and His will be done, first in their own lives, and then throughout the whole earth.