He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches.” He told them still another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about sixty pounds of flour until it worked all through the dough.” Jesus spoke all these things to the crowd in parables; He did not say anything to them without using a parable. So was fulfilled what was spoken through the prophet: “I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter things hidden since the creation of the world.” Matthew 13:31-35
“We Christians are called to be leaven in the very heart of society. The strength of the faith has not diminished over the course of twenty centuries. It is constantly being renewed. For this reason we cannot relax the intensity of our struggle as if everything had already been accomplished. In the face of the evil that threatens to destroy the seed which Christ desires to to sow and cultivate in the heart of every person, we need to be more persistent than ever in helping to bring Christ’s salvific mission to completion. If the early Christians had allowed themselves to become intimidated by the enormous challenge before them, if they had relied on human efforts alone, they would not have accomplished anything in those first centuries throughout those early pagan societies. The Lord encourages us to renew continually our efforts in the face of so urgent a task. Each of us is called to participate fully in this effort with the means we have at hand.”
Francis Fernandez in In Conversation with God: Meditations for Each Day of the Year, volume 7 (London: Scepter, 1993) 354-355.
Today Fernandez urges us to continue to serve as leaven with the means we have. He echoes the impact Jesus spoke about in parables. Even as a small amount of yeast can leaven 60 pounds of flower, our focus can shape our generation if we deploy the means we have at hand. It can lead communities, cities, and even nations to faith.
To this point, I would urge readers to put the resources at your disposal in play, showing that you paid attention when Christ taught in parables. If you recall the parable of the shrewd manager (Luke 16:1-9) and the parable of the rich fool (Luke 12:13-21), you see the difference between faithful and foolish stewardship.
What account will you give? How will your stewardship have shaped (or failed to shape) this present generation? Too many what difference they can make and so they do nothing. Jesus reminds us that our small contribution, like a mustard seed, can grow into a large tree. But that only happens if we sow it. Be faithful, not foolish!
Right now for GTP, I am putting the finishing touches on our most recent on demand course, based on my first book, The Sower: Redefining the Ministry of Raising Kingdom Resources. We will pilot it in January 2025 and release it to the world in April 2025. We want to multiply sowers all over the world with this free certificate course.
In short, the aim of the course intends to challenge God’s workers to challenge every person they serve to plant their proverbial mustard seed, to be leaven with all they have, to put the work the means they have to participate in kingdom work. If you want a free PDF copy of this book, reply to this email and I will share it with you.