Saturday, June 18, 2005
LUKE 13:18-21
The kingdom of God is like a small bit of yeast. A housewife puts it into a mass of dough and slowly it penetrates the whole mass, making it rise.
Our role as Christians is to be yeast, transforming society, making it into God's Kingdom. We are to penetrate society and transform it. This is, of course, a major undertaking. It will not be accomplished overnight, not even over countless generations. How many generations have passed since Jesus walked our earth and first committed this task to earth`s people? How many more generations will be born and die before the task of building the kingdom is accomplished? We have no idea. Perhaps as many generations as have preceded us, perhaps more. This, however, is not reason for us to abandon the task.
Neither is the fact that the task is subversive, reason for abandoning it. And subversive it is! Just as a bit of yeast disturbs the mass of dough, Christian values will disturb, challenge and subvert a society characterized by materialism, consumerism and hedonism; they will subvert anti-Christian values embraced by political forces, hunger for power, arrogance, disrespect for freedom, for justice, for dignity, for life.
I suppose the question we have to ask ourselves is this: have we allowed Christian values to neutralize within us the power of materialism, consumerism and hedonism?
PRAYER
"Lord, fill me with your Holy Spirit and transform me into the Christ- like holiness you desire. Increase my zeal for your kingdom and instill in me a holy desire to live for your greater glory."
Our role as Christians is to be yeast, transforming society, making it into God's Kingdom. We are to penetrate society and transform it. This is, of course, a major undertaking. It will not be accomplished overnight, not even over countless generations. How many generations have passed since Jesus walked our earth and first committed this task to earth`s people? How many more generations will be born and die before the task of building the kingdom is accomplished? We have no idea. Perhaps as many generations as have preceded us, perhaps more. This, however, is not reason for us to abandon the task.
Neither is the fact that the task is subversive, reason for abandoning it. And subversive it is! Just as a bit of yeast disturbs the mass of dough, Christian values will disturb, challenge and subvert a society characterized by materialism, consumerism and hedonism; they will subvert anti-Christian values embraced by political forces, hunger for power, arrogance, disrespect for freedom, for justice, for dignity, for life.
I suppose the question we have to ask ourselves is this: have we allowed Christian values to neutralize within us the power of materialism, consumerism and hedonism?
PRAYER
"Lord, fill me with your Holy Spirit and transform me into the Christ- like holiness you desire. Increase my zeal for your kingdom and instill in me a holy desire to live for your greater glory."
# posted by F O O D F O R T H O U G H T @ 4:17 PM 
