Banana Bread and the Furnace of Life

As I place the banana bread dough into the oven, I strive for perfection in the balance of ingredients—each one measured with care. But no matter how rich or flavorful they are, they must be held together by the flour, and made to rise by the yeast—the life-giving element that transforms the dough in the heat of the furnace.

Too much of one thing, and the bread collapses. Too long in the fire, and it burns, refusing to be taken out at the proper time. It spoils.

So it is with us.

We must enter the furnace of this world—a world aflame with evil and the passions of the flesh—and strive to balance within ourselves the virtues: patience, humility, courage, and faith. But they cannot rise on their own. They must be bound together by the yeast of Life, which is Love—the divine ingredient that causes us to rise, to grow, to become what we were made to be.

For without Love, we remain a lump of ingredients—well-intended, but unmoved. With Love, we become bread for the world.