NOTES for Luk 13:18-21
We often confuse what depends on us, what belongs to the realm of our freedom, with what depends on God alone. We do not know when God will put the leaven of the Kingdom into our dough, but we can knead the dough. We cannot hurry the dough so that it rises faster. But we can make sure that flies do not settle on it.
We cannot decide for ourselves when the Kingdom of God will begin to grow within us. We do not know when God will sow this seed in us. But preparing the soil in the garden does depend on us. We cannot do this by ourselves, but God will not enter our garden without permission; He stands at the door and waits for us to open it to Him. With God's help, we must weed the garden so that the seed of the Kingdom of God is not destroyed by weeds from the very beginning. We must make sure that pests do not take up residence in the garden. But we are not responsible for the seed itself or for the speed at which the tree will grow. Most likely, we will not see its growth.