Jesus used other parables to describe the kingdom of God. In Matt 13:33, He likened it to yeast working its pervasive way through a batch of dough, causing the bread to rise. Yeast permeates everything and affects everything it comes into contact with.
We may well feel that our lives and our faith have little impact on the world. We are not evangelists preaching to thousands. We are not hugely influential people with millions of followers on social media, with people hanging on to our every word. But the truth is, every Christian is like yeast, and yeast has an impact far beyond its size. The very nature of yeast means that it works all through everything it meets; it infiltrates everything. Every Christian has the Holy Spirit dwelling within them, and therefore we have God’s very nature within us. As we allow His nature to influence us, to shape us, to mould us, to permeate us, we then begin to permeate everything around us. Jesus talked about us being salt and light (Matt 5:13-16), again using imagery to help us understand the pervasive nature of His kingdom.
The three parables about seeds and yeast remind us that:
- God is working in our world all the time; He has not abandoned or forsaken us. There may well be delays which we don’t appreciate, but the natural world reminds us that there is a time for everything and a season for every activity under the sun. (Eccl 3:1) We can’t change that, no matter how much we try, so we may as well learn from it!
- God’s work may well be unseen much of the time or look different to what we expect. He delights in turning our thinking upside-down and revolutionising our ways of doing things. There is great liberty and fun in ditching the world’s methodology and living in step with the Holy Spirit, because He brings forth great and mighty things from the smallest starts. If a mustard seed can turn into a mighty tree providing shade for the birds, if an acorn can turn into a mighty oak tree that lives for hundreds of years, what can He do with the tiny faith each one of us has?
- God’s kingdom permeates everything, just as yeast does. Each one of us can be light and salt in our society; we can be yeast, changing the bread from the unleavened, flat consumable to something that is light and tasty and much more appetising!