Day Old Bread

I remember as a kid pulling up to the bread store and stepping out from the vehicle smelling the waves of freshly cooked bread pouring into the air around me. Knowing that we had the opportunity to eat bread that was freshly baked next door to the store gave me great excitement. There were days that when we arrived, the only smell we could detect was the scent of the city. On those days, the bread was not fresh, but instead it was a day or two old. It still tasted like bread, but the flavor and texture was just not the same as the freshly baked bread.

Looking back on my childhood memory got me thinking about how we live our lives as Christians. As new believers, we are on fire for Christ. There seems to not be enough time in the day to read, learn, and serve our God. We have such a raw desire to know as much about God as we can. We would move mountains (if we could), we would jump bridges (not recommended), we would sell everything we have and change all that we know just to show God how much we love Him, but as time moves on, so does our desire for the Lord. We may become static, stale, or even dull. We get comfortable sitting in the same pew we have worshiped for years. We have the same Christmas program, the same worship songs that just get rotated around, and we are at ease with life. We don’t really want or see the need for change. Over time, we become like day old bread. The fresh start of being a new believer has worn off, the taste we have may not appeal to everyone but it appeals to most people, and the texture of who we are on the outside may be looking a bit different, but our hearts are beginning to dry out.

Personally, I don’t ever want to be like day old bread, lacking in ways to bring people to know the one and only true savior. Jesus himself was never stale. He was constantly filing himself up with the Holy Spirit and emanating the sweet aroma that only Christ brings.

My favorite Sundays during worship time are the ones when God shows how pleased He is with us as a church. I will be praising God with all that I have and suddenly an aroma of sweet incense fills the air and I know that He is near and He is pleased with the changes that are taking place within our church. He sees that we are not day old bread, but we are deliciously fresh bread producing a sweet aroma for our King.

“For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing;”(2 Corinthians 2:15)

My challenge for you today is to come before God and ask Him what changes He is wanting you to take on in your own life, church, or community. May you never become comfortable with who you are in Christ, but instead continue to remain fresh and renewed by the Holy Spirit so that you can produce a sweet aroma to the King.