Fresh Bread

Most of Susie’s kitchen gadgets stay in the cupboard, but not this one. Sometime ago we got her a bread machine. This simplified bread making for her. For a busy mom with five children (one just a baby and two schooling at home with mom as their teacher) that bread machine was a blessing. Nearly everyday our family enjoyed the smell of fresh baked bread. It made the house warm and inviting.

• [18] Then Jesus asked, "What is the kingdom of God like? What shall I compare it to? [19] It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his garden. It grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air perched in its branches."
  [20] Again he asked, "What shall I compare the kingdom of God to? [21] It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into a large amount of flour until it worked all through the dough."
  Luke 13:18-21 (NIV)

Jesus had a way of taking the simple everyday things that were a part of everyday life and filling them with new meaning. Jesus made you stop and think about things that could easily be overlooked and taken for granted. So why would Jesus liken the Kingdom of God to a mustard seed and yeast?

The expectation of the Jews was that the Kingdom of God would be established with a great victory over their enemies as God’s Messiah would take his rightful place upon the throne of Israel. Jesus brought the Kingdom in an unexpected way. It started out small. The secrets of the Kingdom were revealed to only a few; most people didn’t understand what Jesus meant. But from this small beginning the Kingdom of God has continued to grow.

I see something else about the Kingdom of God within the mustard seed and the yeast that Jesus might even liken to our bread machine. Surprising I know, but maybe that will help you understand how the people felt when Jesus first told these short parables. They would scratch their heads and wonder what Jesus was talking about. I’m tempted to leave you wondering, but I won’t.

Our bread machine would draw our family together. When the kids were little we would all gather around it to peak through the little window to see how the bread was made. Even today we’ll share time together reminiscing as the smell of fresh baked bread fills our house.

The Kingdom of God draws people together in Christ. Like the birds that make their home in the branches of the mustard tree, or the aroma of fresh bread that calls the family to the dinner table, the Kingdom of God invites people to be included. What do you think?