A little bit makes a huge difference
“Jesus again asked: What else is the Kingdom of God like? It is like the yeast a woman used in making bread. Even though she put only a little yeast in three measures of flour, it permeated every part of the dough.” (Luke13:20-21, NLT)
I wonder what the Jews of that time thought about yeast. Even as modern people of our time, who buy our bread at the shop, we do not truly realise how yeast works. If it is such a mystery to us who have computers and cell phones and other technology available - what must it have been like to the Jews in the times of the early church? An absolute miracle that a little bit of yeast could have such an enormous effect.
What makes the effect of the yeast more wonderful, is that it does its work with a minimum of noise. It would not help if you should quietly peep over the rim of the dish to see what happens inside. You will not be able to see anything, you might just cause the dough to fall flat. Therefore, it is best to leave that dough on the side in a warm place to allow the yeast to do its miracle work undisturbed. This is how the Kingdom will come, says Jesus. It starts in a very small way; like a handful of yeast worked into a huge quantity of dough. It starts with a single word from John when he identifies Jesus as the Lamb of God who will take away all sin from the world (John 1:38), and two men who, probably without thinking much about it, turned around and followed Jesus. A minor beginning, but God preferred it that way.
But in the process, God's children were often irritated and frustrated by the way God chose to let His Kingdom come. Many started to leave when they realised that the Gospel does not only give, but that it also asks us to give everything. Many tried to take the initiative; tried to speed up the process and even to use force. But in the process, they forgot one important fact - you cannot speed up yeast. The way God is enlarging His Empire is not from one dramatic peak to the next; but in peace and quiet where His Spirit works in the hearts of people. Why did Jesus tell this parable? Is it not an uninspiring message about the Kingdom coming so slowly and almost imperceptibly? It is a comforting message, because this parable tells us that we may trust God with the coming of His Kingdom. He Himself will see to it that His Kingdom will come.
That is why we are overwhelmed by the more than 3 000 small dolls for our Valuable to Jesus Campaign, the great number of groups visiting us on Friday nights to join us in our night outreaches, the many OPHELP Projekte teams who bear the message Jesus Saves, by working hard every day.
The yeast is working!
