The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, til the whole was leavened.  Matthew 13:44

Last week I decided to make some homemade bread.  I hadn’t made bread in at least 15 years and I was a little apprehensive.  I used to knead it by hand and it was a lot of work.  But now I have a Kitchen Aide that does the kneading of the dough for me.  Making bread is so much easier now.  I was a little apprehensive about the recipe I was following which said to put the yeast in with the flour and other ingredients then add the warm water.  For anyone who has made bread before you know that you usually, or at least I used to, dissolve the yeast in a little warm water with sugar then add it to the rest of the ingredients.  I was afraid the yeast wouldn’t be activated and I would be left with a useless lump of dough that wouldn’t rise.  When the mixer finished kneading the dough I covered it with a towel and set it in a warm place to rise.  I anxiously checked it several times and was pleased to see that it was rising just as it should.

The yeast only works when it is incorporated into the bread where it can’t be seen.  If you were to mix up the dough and then roll the outside of it in a coating of yeast it would not make the dough rise.  As Christians we need the work of the Holy Spirit inside of us working to change us.  Just putting an appearance of Christianity on the outside will not change us on the inside.