Dear Rose Park,
Flour. Sugar. Warm Water. Yeast. These are the four basic ingredients in order to make bread. The smallest amount of these ingredients is yeast (typically a teaspoon or two) and yet yeast has a tremendous impact on the outcome. Yeast is what makes the bread rise; without yeast you won’t get bread, but instead you’ll have crackers. In this way, yeast is subtle and subversive but it has a tremendous impact on the surrounding culture.
Be like yeast. Too often our overt attempts to communicate the Gospel are received as brash, overbearing, and in-your-face. Shouting bible verses on the street to morning commuters rarely (if ever) brings about a long lasting harvest for the Kingdom of God. Of course, there is a time to be overt, but have you ever considered the effectiveness of being subtle? What if we subversively effected our neighborhoods, breakrooms, or even dinner tables with the love, compassion, and forgiveness of Jesus? When I use the word subversive, I don’t mean deceitful but instead to effect change from below or within. Jesus was certainly subversive as He subtly effected change through His words and actions; He ate with sinners, spent time with tax collectors, and prayed with lepers when the cultural norms and expectations told Him otherwise.
Consider the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7), over and over we hear the repeated phrase, “you have heard it was said…” paired with ”but I say to you…” Jesus is graciously challenging the previous way of thinking and introducing a new mental model. Keep in mind, Jesus is also challenging the system from within the system; He’s not shouting out critiques from the sidelines but instead He is actively participating in the process of effecting change.
Jesus is like yeast; He’s subtle and subversive but He has a tremendous impact on the surrounding culture. Imagine what might happen if we were more like yeast. Imagine if we spent more time showing the love of God to our enemies than we do convincing others that we are loving. Imagine if we spent more time listening and less time arguing. Imagine what might happen if we actively participated to effect change upon a system from within that system instead of shouting critiques from the sideline.
As we begin the holiday season and prepare to gather around tables and trees with friends and family, may you be encouraged and reminded to be patient, to be gracious, and to be subversive in the way you hope to communicate and express the love of God in Christ Jesus.
Grace & Peace,
