Imagine you and your child are going to bake bread. You tell her it’s going to be easy because you have a bread machine. She happily measures in the flour, salt, and other ingredients. She hurries to press the ‘start’ button but you tell her to wait and add yeast to the dispenser first. “Why do we need that?” she asks with a frown. “It’s just a little bit. Does it matter?” You assure her that even that little bit will make a big difference in how the bread turns out.
Sometimes we may question Christ’s way of loving, too. We may think it doesn’t matter whether or not we do things His way. We may find ourselves thinking, ‘Why should I forgive him – do you know what he did to me?’ or ‘What difference does it make if I don’t want to play with my kids? I buy them toys, don’t I?’ or ‘That neighbor is always complaining; why should I be friendly to her?’
If we were to bake bread without yeast, we’d end up with nothing but a brick of dough. If we add the yeast, though, we’ll have a delicious loaf of bread. In a similar way, when we choose to live Christ’s Love, our lives and those of the people around us are enriched. How?
Our Christ-like actions open our hearts to God’s grace. Whether we feel it or not, we allow His peace to come upon us and others when we do kind things for them.
For example, when we ask our Lord to forgive and bless someone who has hurt us, we make room in our hearts for His love and peace. Our hearts may soften a little bit each time we pray for our offender. Over time and with His grace, we’ll change; we’ll be able to forgive them. Praying for them invites the Lord’s peace to fall upon them, too.
When we turn off the TV and focus our attention on our kids, without distractions or resentment, we let them know they’re important to us, and we let Christ soften our hearts with His grace.
When we smile at the sour neighbor and offer a kind word now and then, we invite Christ’s peace to the situation. Her heart may be touched by our kind words, and little by little she may be able to let go of whatever is causing her bitterness.
Wherever Love is, there is the Kingdom of heaven. When we choose to love as Christ loved, we bring the Kingdom of heaven to earth. Our words and actions matter; they might seem small and insignificant to us, but they’re powerful to God. They’re the ‘yeast’ that makes life fuller, richer, and sweeter.
“The Kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed with three measures of wheat flour until the whole batch was leavened.” –Matthew 13:33
“Lord, help me understand that my small loving actions make a difference.”
Thank you for reading my reflection. © 2023 Gina Bedell Comments are always welcome!
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