How God's new leaven works its way through a fallen world. 

As we enter Advent, I’ve been thinking about how God’s quiet kingdom works its way through the world—not in spectacle, but in the slow rise of redemption. And as I’ve been tinkering around my kitchen, it dawned on me how often God weaves images of baking into the pages of Scripture.

Flour, water, and sourdough starter are left alone and begin to move.
Bubbles form, the scent sharpens, and suddenly you have something new: the same ingredients, but a whole new creation.

Leaven works quietly, but once it begins, it cannot be stopped.

For most of Scripture, leaven represented corruption. Israel was told to clear it out before Passover, to leave Egypt with bread that had not yet risen.

Prophets used leaven as a symbol of sin. Jesus Himself warned of “the leaven of the Pharisees.”

It was shorthand for the way evil spreads—small, invisible, and total.

Yet in this parable, Jesus reverses the meaning. He takes the image of decay and redeems it, showing that His kingdom will spread just as completely, only this time bringing life.

In the beginning, creation was whole. The soil gave freely. There were no thorns or toxins. Life lived in harmony with its Maker.

Then sin entered like yeast, spreading through every part of creation. The curse reached even into the ground itself: “Cursed is the ground because of you.”

Plants grew defenses—thorns, shells, bitter compounds. Even the food meant to sustain humanity began to resist us. The earth that once cooperated now drew its arrows against us.

Like leaven, the sin of Adam worked its way through the earth quickly. But the story only begins here, for we have a Savior who came to redeem what Adam lost.

Not long after the fall, God stepped into our mess and began to bake up a new plan of redemption for the world He loved.

When the Lord visited Abraham at the oaks of Mamre, Sarah hurried to knead three measures of flour. I don’t think it was a mere coincidence that Jesus used this same measure in His parable of the yeast and the kingdom.

As Sarah was kneading the leaven into the physical bread to feed the Lord, I believe the Lord Himself was kneading a new kind of leaven into His creation.

Out of that meal came a promise: that through their son Isaac, blessing would come to the nations. Like a good sourdough starter, this promise was passed down from generation to generation.

It was the promise of a child who would be called Immanuel, God with us, who would establish a kingdom that would have no end. It was the day when the Creator of life would step down from His throne in heaven and enter creation in the form of a child.

In a small town called Bethlehem, the “House of Bread,” the true Bread of Life was born. The promise that began in Abraham’s tent rose quietly in a manger, right in the heart of the Roman Empire.

While the powers of the world built monuments to themselves, God began His redemption with flour, water, and life hidden in obscurity. The world’s empires rose like quick yeast. His kingdom began like sourdough—slow, living, and eternal.

Every empire built on sin eventually collapses beneath its own weight.
Pride makes kingdoms rise in haste, but humility makes them endure.
The kingdoms of this world rise puffed up with their own glory, only to fall flat, while the kingdom of heaven rises by grace, steady and sure.

God’s covenant with Abraham was abundance itself: descendants as numerous as the stars and as countless as the grains of sand on the shore.

Isaiah and Habakkuk echoed the same vision:

“The earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.”

Daniel saw a stone, cut without human hands, that struck the kingdoms of the world and grew into a mountain filling the whole earth.
And the prophet Isaiah proclaimed,

Different prophets, same picture—sand, water, mountain—all showing the slow, unstoppable spread of God’s reign through a kingdom not kneaded by human hands.
The false kingdoms of the world rise fast and collapse, but the true one permeates.

The curse that touched the soil also touched the grain.
Wheat locked its nutrients away behind phytates and hard shells—the plant’s own kind of thorn.

Unfermented bread still bears the taste of that struggle.
But when dough is given time to rest, when natural leaven is allowed to work, the acids and microbes break down those defenses. The grain becomes digestible. Its bitterness turns sweet.

Fermentation, patiently done, heals what the curse hardened. So too with the kingdom. Christ’s leaven works through the world slowly, releasing what sin once bound, turning what was hostile into nourishment again.

Like true sourdough, He took into Himself what we could not break down on our own.
He bore the weight of sin—the indigestible substance of a fallen world—and transformed it through His body into life-giving bread for all who partake of Him.

If this reflection spoke to you, you can subscribe below to receive future essays directly in your inbox. I write slowly and intentionally about food, faith, and the quiet work of restoration.

Next time, I’ll stay with this same image of leaven, looking at how it lives on from generation to generation, and how a simple jar of sourdough starter can still preach the same promise today.

Thank you for reading! I simply would like to end in a prayer: Father I thank you for sending the bread of life into the world that we might live. For we do not live off bread alone but by every word that you speak. So feed us lord with your word and may your word spread from sea to sea until it covers the earth, Amen!

Think back to high school for just a moment. For some this is not that far back, and for others it may be a stretch. Close your eyes and remember what is was like on game night. You’re huddled with your teammates, the crowd is yelling, and you’re waiting to enter the field. The team has spent countless hours preparing for this moment. Hearts pounding, blood flowing, and the rush of excitement coursing through your veins… It’s GAME TIME!

So what does waiting look like in every day life?

When we think of waiting we probably picture ourselves passively waiting on something or someone. Waiting sometimes feels unproductive.

Here’s the what the Bible says about waiting.

"but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint."  – Isaiah 40:31

In this verse there are three key words: wait, run, and walk. Scripture clearly illustrates to us that while we wait on the Lord, we can expect to be active. We can also see that for every small effort we give to the Lord, He rewards us greatly! He promises if we wait on Him, He will give us strength. If we move when He tells us to move, He will not let us grow weary or faint. What an amazing and gracious Heavenly Father!

Throughout Scripture we find countless examples of God’s people waiting.

In Genesis God commanded Abram to leave his country and go to a land that He would show him. Here, we don’t see a man who sits and waits for God to provide a MapQuest version of detailed instructions to follow. Instead, he is commanded to simply go. And Abram went.

In 1 Samuel we see an adolescent, David, anointed by Samuel to be the next king of Israel. Yet in the very next section of scripture, we find David playing his harp for King Saul. In fact, there are many years filled with active adventure including slaying Goliath and fleeing from Saul for his life between David’s anointing and actually becoming king.

As you read through the Bible, you’ll find that we are not told to sit, but to come, follow, walk, and run.
 
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us," – Hebrews 12:1

God calls us to run with patience. Both of these are words chalk full of work. Running and patience take practice. Doesn’t this seem like an overwhelming task? If you continue through the next two verses you will see where we find our source of strength.

"looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted." – Hebrews 12:2-3

If we’re actively waiting then we’re more than likely anticipating something. Often times in life-changing decisions I think we allow fear to overtake our anticipation.

Fear is defined as “being afraid or apprehensive.” In contrast anticipation means “the act of looking forward; especially: pleasurable expectation.”

In the midst of both feelings, you experience a racing heart, fluttering in your stomach, but one feeling pushes you forward while the other feeling holds you back.

I am not fearful of the journey ahead, rather anticipating–heart pounding ready. Ready to go when God says, “Go.” Not sitting worried about what might come. The Lord reveals His will to us as we actively seek Him while waiting on His guidance. Throughout scripture when God’s people had to wait on the next step, they weren’t sitting idle doing nothing; they were moving, building, overcoming milestones, conquering enemies, and winning battles victoriously.

How can you actively wait today? Read God’s Word. It doesn’t matter where you start reading just start. Application. Apply what you have read to your life.

How can Scripture impact your decisions? Live intentionally. In every decision make it as unto your Heavenly Father. Watch for the Lord’s hand in your life daily even in the small things (trust me He is there).

The Lord reminded me this month that all our walk and all our work is a response to what He initiates. He is the God who calls, He is the God with the plan, and He is the God who chooses the person for the mission. In the Book of Joshua, just as He did with Moses in Exodus 3, God calls Joshua to Himself and to His plan. The famous "be strong and courageous" (Joshua 1:9) passage only comes after God has clearly stated what He plans to do. He then invites Joshua to enter. What an incredible comfort and what a powerful source of boldness, confidence and strength for the mission ahead. 

When we follow God's faithful plan to call people to His mission from Noah, to Abraham, through Moses, Joshua, David and all the way to us, we hear Him say again, "I will build My church." (Matthew 16:18). Who are we that the Lord would invite us into this greatest of all missions with Himself? I am 30 years into walking with the Lord, and I am still blown away by His tender love, His faithfulness and His ever closer presence as He accomplishes His purpose in this world, in the hearts of His people and through their lives into the lives of others. May God's grace and mercy and peace fuel our hearts with boldness, courage and renewed energy to join Him as He works His will through us.