Waiting On The Kingdom To Rise

January 26, 2021

Another parable He spoke to them: “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all leavened.”

~Matthew 13:33~

Here is one of my shortest devotionals to represent one of the shortest parables Jesus spoke of during His ministry on earth, the parable of the leaven. He gives us an example of what the kingdom of heaven is like using the concept of leaven. Now, I know I don't have to explain what a leavening agent is used for as I am sure we all know that. The mental picture this parable paints is rather fascinating. When we are making dough for a bread we add our yeast, which is the leavening agent, and we allow it to sit for a couple hours or so to let the dough rise at the right height. It takes a lot of patience in the process of bread making, just as it does in waiting on the Lord; "But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance." (Romans 8:25)

I dont know about you but I love bread and waiting on fresh baked bread to be finished is hard to do! We tend to feel that same emotion as we wait on Jesus. He is the bread of life; "And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst." (John 6:35)

With natural bread we are full only temporarily, with Jesus we are eternally full.

With yeast, we only need to add a little bit for a whole batch of dough to rise.

The kingdom of heaven is in its waiting period of rising, we only needed a little agent to start the process and it continues to expand out each generation. The more we wait the larger it will become. This is God's desire, to bring as many of His children in to sit down and dine with Him when it is all ready; "Even so it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish."

(Matthew 18:14)

The Father wants none of His children left behind, so He calls us to be patient and to help them see. To use our gifts to fulfill His plan. Jesus, who is the bread of life, is waiting for His body to grow to the capacity that is pleasing. We are called to be faithful and patient as we are part of this process. We are to go out and allow the kingdom to grow more each day, to help this process along by caring for our part in it; " There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord."

(I Corinthians 12:5)

Who knows, if we all pitched in more and did our part each day we may just be closer to seeing Jesus return. When we bake a fresh loaf of bread we want to share it with as many people as possible so they can taste how good it truely is for themselves.

"Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!"

(Psalms 34:8)

What fun is it if we just keep it all to ourselves? That seems pretty selfish to me. We are told to share the gospel and most importantly pray for those who are lost. We cannot give up on this. As we wait on the Lord, we can spend it praying for those who are not aware of what the kingdom is like; "For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of His Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers." (Romans 1:9)

God is always moving and He is always listening. His timing is perfect and we are not meant to understand it all; "Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time."

(I Peter 5:6)

As the leaven works its course in the Bread of Life, we can patiently wait on our Father to fulfill all of His promises. If you roll out your dough too soon it wouldnt be nearly as enjoyable. God prepares everything perfectly and He is asking us to be apart of it! What a gift! "For we, though many, are one bread and one body; for we all partake of that one bread." (I Corinthians 10:17)

Let us help Jesus in preparing His Body for the right time where we can all enjoy the kingdom together. Let us put aside our own desires and take His in our hearts, helping the leaven doing its job in forming the kingdom of heaven.

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, thank you for Your Son who spoke such elegant parables to describe such an elegant place. I pray for the patience each day it takes as I wait on You. Pour out Your Holy Spirit upon me so I may use the gifts of heaven to help the kingdom rise to Your satisfaction. Thank you for Your faithfulness, Lord. Please remind me to put aside my own desires and to focus on those around me who are in deep need of You. I praise You for the mercy You have shown as You waited on me to believe, now its my turn to wait on You and trust in the leavening process. May all the glory and honor be to the King of Kings who is the Bread of Life to fill all who are hungry. It is in Your Name I pray and receive this, Jesus Christ. Amen.