The Imperfect Cake

Good Friday morning! So my first attempt at a German chocolate cake did not come out perfectly. First of all I haven't learned to make a homemade frosting yet, so the the cake had store bought frosting, and then I didn't have enough, so it had two different kinds (and colors!) of frosting on it. Well, shiver me timbers, matey! Do you suppose God loves me any less for that little bakery faux pas? For a bit I even argued with myself about taking the cake to the pot luck, but then what about that verse where we are commanded to humble ourselves? We all want to show off only our best efforts, but if we seek to show only perfection we will never show anything. Do you suppose Gideon worried about perfect form and appearance when he went into battle for the Lord? Do you think Paul made Luke write several drafts of every epistle before he sent the letters to the churches? At one time I would have said yes to that last one, but I am not so sure.

Did Paul pause to think and get his words straight before committing them to paper? Yes, I certainly believe that, but several drafts and rewrites? Perhaps not. Paul wrote from the heart and he wrote in the Spirit. I'm sure that Paul also wrote after prayer and thanksgiving with God. What if Paul had Luke read the letter to the Romans back to him and then decided that it wasn't perfect, better to keep that one for himself? We might not have one of the best books of the Bible, one called by some "The Christian's Constitution". We might not have the blessings we find in Romans. Just think of how many sermons and books would never have been spoken or written without the Letter to the Romans!

An effort may not meet your standard of perfection. It is often interesting to think that we think we know what perfection is, and that somehow with enough effort we can somehow achieve this perfection... even though we know very well that we are imperfect and fallen creatures. If God baked the perfect cake, would it look anything at all like any cake ever baked? Could we recognize perfection sitting on the kitchen counter? Would we dare taste of the perfect cake and thus diminish it by so much as a mouthful? And if once tasted would we then spend the remainder of our short lives in a fruitless search to duplicate that perfection? In so many efforts we kinda sorta do just that. Maybe we should just let God be perfect today and trust in Him.

Have a wonderful Friday!

Bucky