Day 13- The Mustard Seed & Yeast & The Narrow Door
Read it: Luke 13:18-30
Live it:
In our current society, these parables are some of the hardest to digest. The mustard seed and yeast are both insignificant compared to others of the same kind. The mustard seed is so small compared to the walnut seed. If one is not careful, one could drop a mustard seed and never know it until it’s too late. Try to find a mustard seed in a haybale!
Yeast is just like it. Put yeast in warm water, and it appears to disappear. Try to separate the yeast from the water. It is nearly impossible! Yet, both of these examples that Jesus gives are seen as how the Kingdom of God works. The Kingdom of God is not like the sugar and cinnamon of a cinnamon roll. Everyone loves a good cinnamon roll; the taste is so sweet and good. We wish the church was like that, so everyone would want to become a part of it. But the Kingdom of God is like yeast. Without the yeast, the cinnamon roll would just be a cinnamon tortilla– flat and covered with sugary goodness but with no substance. The Kingdom of God is that aspect of society that no one sees, but it transforms governments, cities, communities, families, and individuals, usually in the reverse order.
Consider with me for a moment the current ideas of right and wrong. Why is it wrong that a child should have to work? For most of the world’s history, children have worked with their parents. Sweatshops are seen as evil and wrong. Where did that idea come from? Or, why are women seen as equals to men in the United States? That is what we claim, but most of the world and most of history have not seen women this way. Could it be the influence of Genesis 1 and 2, and both male and female being created in God’s image, worthy of dignity, value, and love? Why is slavery seen as a horrible blight on humanity? Could it go back to the Image of God teaching? No other religion sees women and slavery in the same light as Christianity.
So now the real question: what do the first two parables have to do with the Narrow Door? Is it really hard to get to God’s presence? Why is this portion of Scripture seen as a problem by so many people in the Western world? Because Christianity is a subtle, unseen force until it is too late. God doesn’t care about the bluster of the government, or the media, or the educational system, or any of the other problems that we wring our hands about. All he has to say is one word, and all of these will be done away with! Instead, he looks for the one who is willing to influence the world around him a little at a time.
The door to God’s presence is narrow because not many are willing to allow the yeast of the Kingdom to grow in their hearts. The way is narrow because not many are willing to allow the Kingdom of God to be planted and grow into towering plants that guide our unseen paths.
I want instant results! Yeast and seeds take time, and few are the ones who wait for God to move.
Carl