Messy Results Still Scrumptious

When baking, I usually make the batter by adding a couple ingredients to the mixture from a box. Then, I came across a recipe for Chocolate Mud Cake, baked in a slow cooker. That novel idea sounded fun.

(Doesn't the picture below just make your mouth water?)

I thought my daughter and I would at least have fun trying to make it.

Below is the result of our efforts in the slow cooker.

On the surface, it resembles a cake.



When cutting into the cake to serve, the chocolate oozed out. (see below)

It was much more like MUD than cake, yet delicious.



The recipe had a disclaimer:

"Note: the cake's cooking time and final appearance will vary depending on your crock's size."

I thought about how our baking project could be a metaphor for our walk with God. Sometimes you have all the right ingredients. You go to church, read your Bible, and spend quiet time with God. You follow the recipe, but the results are not quite what you pictured. It is a little messy, a little muddy.

Maybe God takes you down an unexpected path. Maybe He does not answer your prayers as you anticipated or when you expected.

Aren't we like the "crock" in the recipe's disclaimer? Depending on the container, the cooking time and final appearance may vary. Each of us holds the ingredients a little differently. Some of us may need to simmer longer to bring the ingredients together. As long as we follow the recipe with faith and trust in God, He will be as pleased with us as we were with the cake.

"And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him."

Hebrews 11:6 (NIV)