Wednesday in the Word: What’s Your Cake

As an author, I work with a lot of cake. Wait. What?

I admit the two don’t really go together, but it did get your attention. And it is a true statement, though my being an author has little to nothing to do with working with cake. Unless you count the number of bakers and bakeries I have in my books.

Authors are creatives, and creatives need outlets for their creativity. It helps them relax. One would think the writing process would take care of that need. But as writing turns to work, authors sometimes find the need to express themselves in other creative ways for relaxation. They look for opportunities to work out other creative processes.

One way I do this is through baking. I learned to decorate cakes in high school, and in adulthood made and decorated cakes as a hobby-business. I love all the techniques you can employ. And cakes can be decorated to compliment any personality. But there is a downside.

You need a small round cake for a birthday. Chocolate frosting and chocolate cake is the birthday girl’s favorite. Aunt Karen breaks out in hives when she eats chocolate. Do you get the chocolate cake and leave out Aunt Karen? Get a flavor the birthday girl doesn’t like as much?  Order an extra cake, incur greater expense, and have leftover cake?

Enter the cupcake. Cupcakes allow a variety of flavors without the added expense or leftovers. Cupcakes can  also be decorated to fit any style and personality. You do miss out on the wow factor of the full cake masterpiece, though, if you don’t go to any additional lengths in the display. Another downside is the nasty wrappers to dispose of.

Cake balls provide an alternative. Frosting and cupcake are condensed into one bite-sized morsel sweetly contained in a layer of chocolate. Done correctly, the inside it smooth, almost creamy. The outside can be decorated, though choices are more limited. They are also easy to make very poorly. Improper mixing leaves clumps of dry cake and globs of frosting inside the chocolate shell.  Plus, adding a layer of chocolate to what is essentially a full cupcake can make them too sweet for some.

Many people prefer full cakes. Others like the fun, portability of the cupcake. And there are those that like the one bite cake ball. As for me, I’d have to say cupcakes are my favorite, both in eating and baking.

The point is all three use the same base. Cake and frosting are essential to each one. We aren’t limited to one form of cake for everyone in the world to enjoy. We aren’t even limited to one form for ourselves. I can love cupcakes while you pass them over in favor of cake balls. It’s okay.

Know what else is okay? The fact that we choose different churches for worship. As believers, we are united with the same base. Our sin separates us from God, now and in eternity. Jesus’ sinless life, innocent death, and triumphant resurrection pays our sin debt when we cannot. When we accept this truth for our lives, God promises to forgive our sin and we enter into renewed relationship with Him.

Whether we attend a church with contemporary worship or traditional hymns makes no difference. If we are comfortable in a church with weekly communion or prefer to partake of it quarterly, it makes no difference. We could be surrounded by hundreds of worshippers or a handful. Guess what? It makes no difference. As long as our church is teaching truth from scripture, none of these trappings of church make a difference.

United through the same base of salvation, we can worship in churches that speak to the way God created us. When we meet at conferences and concerts, we can worship together as one and lift each other up in prayer. And when there is a need, we can all work together as the united body of Christ.

Because no matter our differences, as believers, we are all part of one body through salvation.

Ephesians 4:1-6 “Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.”

I attend a small church, but have the pleasure of working in a ministry where believers from several types of churches come together to share God’s love with teenagers each summer. Is your church a large church or small church? What do you like about it?