The Leaven

 "It is like yeast...worked all through the dough."  Luke 13:21 NIV

In this short parable, Jesus compares the Kingdom of God with yeast, or leaven, that permeates the dough that it is placed in. In an imperceptible way, the yeast changes the quality of the dough.  It is interesting to think of the difference between unleavened bread and leavened bread.  Unleavened bread is tougher and tastes more of the grain that it was made with.  Leavened bread is lightened with air bubbles and has the added flavour of the yeast making it more enjoyable to eat.  Christians filled with love cannot help but  affect those around them just as the yeast affects the bread.  It is not a question of the leaven only influencing part of the dough, all the dough is eventually changed.  God's love expressed through his people is unstoppable in its progression through the world.

Thank you, Lord, for your love.  I pray that the leaven in me will stay active and alive. I see so many ways in which Christians have brought hope to the world: education, medicine, governance that brings peace and above all else the everlasting hope of living with God forever.