Today, I want to share a chapter from an upcoming book to be published in September...it is below. Enjoy!
Leaven in Flour
He (Jesus) spoke another parable to them, “ The kingdom
of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three specks
of flour until it was all leavened.”
Matthew 13:33
Leaven, like yeast, is
composed of very small, flour-like particles. Like the mustard seed, a
single particle of yeast is hard to even see with our eyes.
Yet when
you add leaven to bread dough, the leaven will transform the entire
portion of the dough. In this parable, the woman, the bread maker, adds a small amount of leaven to the flour. Next, she sets the dough aside for a time. After a time of hours or days, the leaven will permeate the entire loaf of dough to make it it fluffy and delicious
when baked. Without the leaven, the dough would bake into a hard
lump, having the consistency, and likely the flavor, of a rock. But
with the addition of the leaven, the entire amount of dough is
transformed into something useful, delightful, delicious, and
satisfying.
The comparison of the
kingdom of heaven to leaven is similar to the parables which compare
the kingdom of heaven to the growth of a plant from a seed. We do not
know all the scientific details as to how the plant grows, and
neither do we fully understand exactly how such a small amount of
leaven can transform an entire batch of dough on its own. Also,
once the dough is leavened, you cannot remove the leaven. The dough
is now a wholly new type of substance, with new properties. In a
similar way, when a person is transformed by the spirit of God, that
individual's soul is completely transformed and renewed.
I believe that the Holy
Spirit is like the leaven for mankind. It was when the Holy Spirit
was sent down at Pentecost (as written in the book of Acts in the New
Testament), that the process of “leavening the dough of the hearts
of mankind” was added to the life-experience on Earth. It was at
that time that an initial reaction occurred, and it was at that time
when access to the spiritual Kingdom of God became available to all
mankind. Since that time (which was about 33 or 34 A.D.), the Holy
Spirit, together and with the direction of God through Christ, has been
transforming the lives and hearts of people all over the world.
When
you, as an individual, accepted the message of Christ, you also
received the Holy Spirit as available to you as your sole “guide;”
and you received your “portion of leaven!” Do
you recognize, at least in part, how the “spiritual leaven” in
your own life and attitudes is working? How has the spiritual
leavening process changed you thus far? What areas of your life, or
attitudes in your life, have you allowed to be transformed by the
message and teachings of Christ? What areas of your life do you know
still need to be transformed?
There
will be seasons in your life during which God will allow or bring
circumstances into your life in order to continue your spiritual
transformation.
You
can allow the transformation to occur and look forward to it, or you
can slow the process by resisting the promptings of the Spirit upon
your life. Paul
wrote in Philippians 1:6, “being confident of this, that He who
began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day
of Christ.” Likewise, you can be assured that areas of your life
which have not yet been touched or transformed by “God's spiritual
leaven” eventually will be transformed over time. The Spirit will
nudge you to make changes in certain areas of your life, in order to
bring those areas into accordance with the will of God. When this
happens, be faithful to God and to the teachings of Christ. Allow
those areas of your life to change in order to be in accordance with
God's will. It
is worth it! The
transformation often seems hard. Sometimes the transformation seems
frightening or undesirable. However, I have never known anyone who
has been “spiritually leavened” by the Holy Spirit who isn't
delighted with the end result! Take notice of the spiritual leavening
in your own life and thank God for bringing you closer to Him in the
process!
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