If I were . . .

"You who made the lion and the lamb
You who made me what I am
Would it spoil some vast eternal plan . . . if I were a wealthy man?

That was the question of Tevye to God in The Fiddler on the Roof. And if I understand some of what God is saying to us when Jesus compares the kingdom to yeast, then I think we can say that God's answer to Tevye would have been "Yes". God has a vast eternal plan in our hearts, attitudes, instinctive responses, behaviors and habits. And he still uses "ALL THINGS" to form us to the character of his son Jesus.

Let's not say "if I were . . ." and instead let's submit ourselves to God in any given situation or trial and allow him to let his nature spread in us like YEAST.