The Parable of the Leaven
Teaching children is like the parable of the leaven, “which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.” (Luke 13:21)
Will bread rise if we don’t leaven it? The leavening is the power placed within the bread itself that causes it to rise. No more, no less. You can place that lump of dough in the center of your kitchen and tap your foot waiting for something to happen. You can yell at it. You can nag it. You can criticize it for not living up to your expectations. No matter what you think of that bread, it is now its own self, and it’s going to rise in its own way, and not till it’s ready. You may worry, but if you have obeyed the instructions, it will turn out all right. In fact, it will probably be wonderful and make a lot of people very happy.
Making bread is a labor of love. And so is teaching children.
