A young woman is making biscuits for her new husband. When she tries to roll them out she has a problem—they keep falling apart. It is all she can do to make them stick together long enough to get them on the baking sheet. And when she tries to take them off, they fall to pieces. Her husband tells her, “That’s all right. It’s the taste that matters,” as he gallantly takes a bite, and a little bite is all he can get. They crumble so easily he cannot even butter them. Before long, his plate is filled with crumbs and he has not managed to eat even half a biscuit’s worth.
The next morning she calls her mother. “Too much shortening,” her mother says. So that evening the new bride tries again. If shortening is the culprit, she reasons, maybe no shortening at all would be even better.
That night, as she slides the biscuits off into the basket, each lands with an ominous thud. Her husband gamely takes a bite, or at least tries to. They might as well be hockey pucks.
I imagine that even non-cooks can see the point here. Each ingredient in the recipe makes a difference; each one is important and must not be left out—the shortening makes the biscuits tender, the flour gives them enough structure to hold together. Why are we smart enough to see that here, but forget it when it comes to spiritual matters?
One group says faith is the only thing we need. Another says strict obedience is the only thing we need. One of them bakes crumbs, the other hockey pucks.
Every generation reacts to the past generation’s errors by overcorrecting. Each group is so afraid of making the same mistake that they make another one, and worse, usually sneer at their fathers for missing it so badly, thinking in their youthful arrogance that they have discovered something brand new. What they have usually discovered is the same error another generation made long ago, the error their fathers tried to correct and overdid as well.
Why is it so hard to stop that swinging pendulum in the middle? Why do we arrogantly suppose that the last group did everything wrong and we are doing everything right.
Does God want faith? Yes, the righteous shall live by his faith, Hab 2:4.
Does God want obedience? Yes, to obey is better than sacrifice, 1 Sam 15:22.
Does God want our hearts? He always has, and why can’t we put it all together? Thanks be to God…that you became obedient from the heart, Rom 6:17.
The Hebrew write equates disobedience with a lack of faith. And to whom did he swear that they should not enter into his rest but to them who were disobedient? And we see that they were not able to enter in due to unbelief, Heb 3:18,19.
Can God make it any plainer? He doesn’t want crumbs; He doesn’t want hockey pucks; He wants a nice tender biscuit of a heart that is firm enough to hold the shape of the pattern used to cut it. Follow the recipe God gave you. When you go about your day today, make sure you have all the ingredients.
Woe to you scribes, Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint, anise, and cumin, and have left undone the weightier matters of the law. But these [matters of the heart] you ought to have done, and not left the other [matters of strict obedience] undone, Matt 23:23.
Dene Ward
The next morning she calls her mother. “Too much shortening,” her mother says. So that evening the new bride tries again. If shortening is the culprit, she reasons, maybe no shortening at all would be even better.
That night, as she slides the biscuits off into the basket, each lands with an ominous thud. Her husband gamely takes a bite, or at least tries to. They might as well be hockey pucks.
I imagine that even non-cooks can see the point here. Each ingredient in the recipe makes a difference; each one is important and must not be left out—the shortening makes the biscuits tender, the flour gives them enough structure to hold together. Why are we smart enough to see that here, but forget it when it comes to spiritual matters?
One group says faith is the only thing we need. Another says strict obedience is the only thing we need. One of them bakes crumbs, the other hockey pucks.
Every generation reacts to the past generation’s errors by overcorrecting. Each group is so afraid of making the same mistake that they make another one, and worse, usually sneer at their fathers for missing it so badly, thinking in their youthful arrogance that they have discovered something brand new. What they have usually discovered is the same error another generation made long ago, the error their fathers tried to correct and overdid as well.
Why is it so hard to stop that swinging pendulum in the middle? Why do we arrogantly suppose that the last group did everything wrong and we are doing everything right.
Does God want faith? Yes, the righteous shall live by his faith, Hab 2:4.
Does God want obedience? Yes, to obey is better than sacrifice, 1 Sam 15:22.
Does God want our hearts? He always has, and why can’t we put it all together? Thanks be to God…that you became obedient from the heart, Rom 6:17.
The Hebrew write equates disobedience with a lack of faith. And to whom did he swear that they should not enter into his rest but to them who were disobedient? And we see that they were not able to enter in due to unbelief, Heb 3:18,19.
Can God make it any plainer? He doesn’t want crumbs; He doesn’t want hockey pucks; He wants a nice tender biscuit of a heart that is firm enough to hold the shape of the pattern used to cut it. Follow the recipe God gave you. When you go about your day today, make sure you have all the ingredients.
Woe to you scribes, Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint, anise, and cumin, and have left undone the weightier matters of the law. But these [matters of the heart] you ought to have done, and not left the other [matters of strict obedience] undone, Matt 23:23.
Dene Ward
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