Mark Sorensen Ran across an article recently that spurred some thought. It featured an interview with the Christian musical artist, LeCrae. He spoke of “culture” and how the church, too often, stands at a distance.
“The reason why the church typically doesn’t engage culture is because we are scared of it. We’re scared it’s going to somehow jump on us and corrupt us. We’re scared it’s going to somehow mess up our good thing. So we consistently move further and further away from the corruption, further and further away from the crime, further and further away from the post-modernity, further and further away from the relativism and secular humanism and we want to go to a safe place with people just like you. We want to be comfortable.”
Challenging comments. Anytime I am challenged, I am led back to the scriptures. How exactly did Jesus live? Jesus was not afraid of culture. Take a look at Matthew 13:33. Oftentimes, yeast was used in a negative connotation in scriptures. But here, Jesus is using yeast as an illustration to how we are called to live.
“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.” (Matthew 13:33)
As women would prepare a loaf of bread, they would always take a piece of what was being made (the leavened bread) and set it aside for the next loaf to be prepared as it contained good leaven. Then, when the new loaf was created, this piece of dough from the previous loaf would be placed in and worked throughout the new dough carrying the yeast into the new batch allowing itself to spread among it. After this was done, a piece would be removed from that loaf and held back to be placed in the next loaf where the same process would take place. Over and over the same process would happen. Good yeast cultures from the previous loaf would be placed in the new loaf of dough to spread among it and cause it to rise.
Amazing. Shouldn’t the followers of Jesus do the same? Let me ask. Where are you called to be yeast? Where are the places in your life that God has put you that you could impact for the Kingdom of God. How can you bring His Kingdom into your setting right now, today? How is your passion for Jesus changing the culture you are currently a part of?
There is more building of the Kingdom to do on this earth. Let’s work on building it together, shall we?
