He told them another parable. “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened.” Matthew 13:33
Jesus compares the kingdom of heaven to the effect of a small amount of leaven. For all the non-bakers out there, once mixed in and allowed to sit – leaven (yeast) will grow and rise the whole loaf. In fact, a piece of dough can be pulled off and used to start a whole new batch.
Similarly, the Kingdom of Heaven impacts everything around it. God can use a small beginning - a few people, a single testimony - to enact restorative and redemptive power into a whole community, a life or even a culture. It can grow unseen until its influence is pervasive.
God has chosen us to spread the Kingdom. That requires mixing it up with our world, wherever He has placed us. We can be bold and confident - the flour doesn’t change the leaven; rather the leaven transforms the whole. Our mission is to engage our culture, love our neighbors. I might present just a small pinch of leaven, but the Spirit of God will expand it and do His work.
Thy Kingdom Come!
