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That's right! We are talking about that rich yellow or brown sauce that you can probably find if you look in your refrigerator. I don't know if you like mustard, but I bet your Dad does. It makes a cheese sandwich or hot dog taste spicy and good. Be careful! If you put too much on your sandwich, it will tickle your tongue!
Mustard seeds are really tiny! You can hold dozens and dozens in the palm of your hand! Jesus told us a story about a man who planted some mustard seeds in his garden. Maybe he planted them there because he thought that since they were so small, they wouldn't take up much room, and he could plant a lot of other things in his garden, too. But to his surprise, when the mustard plants grew up, they got bigger and bigger until they were bigger than anything else in his garden. They even got so big that birds flew up and landed in the branches! In fact, I bet they took over his garden completely.
Here in Northern California, you can see mustard plants in the fields and vineyards early in the spring. Look for it next spring. It has pretty yellow flowers. The kind of mustard that grows around here doesn't get that big, but it gets big enough for little birds to roost in it.
The kind of mustard that grows in Palestine (the country Jesus taught in) grows much bigger that ours. It gets so big that it would be even over your Dad's head! It is almost a tree!
Do you think Jesus told this story to teach us how to make better sandwiches? No, He was actually taking about the way Jehovah is growing HIS kingdom. HE started out real small, with just one man (Jesus) teaching about his kingdom. Gradually, the Gospel of the Kingdom got larger and larger, firstly by Jesus teaching His disciples, then they taught other people, and on and on until the whole world has heard the Good News. Soon, when the time is right, Jehovah's Kingdom will cover the whole world, and we will all be able to live together in peace and happiness under the 'branches' of Jehovah's Kingdom.
You see, when Jehovah starts something, HE starts small, like the mustard seed. He doesn't have a big party and toot trumpets and make big cheers when HE starts, like we usually do. Just like when you were born. You were very tiny, but you were precious. Your Mom and Dad took care of you, and you grew bigger and bigger. Someday, you might be bigger than your Mom and Dad! But when Jehovah starts something, it grows, and grows, and grows until it fills the whole earth.