Partaking Of All God’s Words

Dessert has always been a favorite in my family. My great grandfather was known to sit down and eat most of a pie by himself.  My favorite cookie has always been sugar, because my grandmother made the best. She would sit a plate of fresh baked cookies on the table and tell us kids to help ourselves. Christmas parties in my family were a time, once a year, when all the cousins could move through the food line and choose as many cookies and candies as we wanted without first eating a plate laden with healthy fare.

Today, I have dessert recipes written in the handwritings’ of both of my grandmothers. The old recipe cards have smudges from the flour on their hands over the many years that they held those cards and mixed together yummy ingredients to make homemade treats.

Dessert is a fun part of life. Enjoying something chocolaty, or creamy, or rich in vanilla or fruit flavoring is always a treat. We even associate the smells and tastes with past family memories. But life cannot be sustained on dessert alone. Without healthy foods our bodies would fail and we would live a sickly life that would likely be shortened by chronic disease brought on by our unhealthy diet.

Some biblical teachings, when taken separately from the whole message in God’s Word, have been described as dessert messages, filled only with things that are easy to receive.  But when taken alone and out of balance with the whole counsel of God’s Word, our spiritual health will be in jeopardy. One example is a focus on the mercy and forgiveness of God while avoiding the truth of His justice and wrath against sin. The same is true with looking only at scripture that talks of how God finds joy in blessing us while leaving out the truth that we will reap what we have sown—whether for good or bad. One way we can measure our spiritual maturity is by considering how we respond to the whole truth of the bible and our desire or lack of desire to digest all that it contains:

But grow [spiritually mature] in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be glory (honor, majesty, splendor), both now and to the day of eternity. Amen. 2 Peter 3:18

Life really is short, so satisfy that sweet tooth and indulged from time to time. But when it comes to God’s Word, let’s indulge in the whole feast!