Breaking the hard shell to get to the chewy center.
Or how we are like maple nut candies.
Who remembers these little wonders? Their appearance is unassuming. Bland, even. But to pass them by would be to miss a real treat. There are generic versions of this candy, but when I was young(er) they were known as “Maple Nut Goodies.” They were my favorite for a long time, and I had a little ritual about eating them. I would crack the outer shell, eat every morsel of maple goodness, and then pop the gooey center into my mouth to chew slowly and savor. Then, having instantly gratified my craving, I could take my time with the second candy, which I forced myself to suck and not chew until chewing was unavoidable. Two was usually my limit, though there were certainly times I could eat half a dozen or more.
By now, you’re probably wondering what this is all about, aside from providing a blast from the past for a few of you.
Here we go!
Beloved of God (that’s YOU).
Did you know that is how He thinks of you? I’m betting some of you think God is standing over you with a whip or a fly swatter, waiting for you to get back in line, or maybe waiting to punish you for something that is hurting your conscience, and the idea of Him loving you is as far-fetched as the old wives’ tale that said the moon was made of green cheese.
That’s okay. If you aren’t familiar with God loving you, it’s probably because you have not been exposed to His story—the Bible. There is so much argument about this subject—often made by people who have never held a Bible in their hands—that it can be very confusing.
If you want to know what someone thinks, it’s best to go straight to the source. In this case, the source is Jesus, the Son of God. In this paragraph from the Gospel of John, He is talking to his students and others in the audience. He is explaining how much God loves them. Here, I’ll show you.
Jesus said (14), “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, (15) that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. (16) For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. (17) For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. (18) "He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. (19) And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. (20) For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. (21) But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God." John 3:14-21
Let’s see if we can make this message simple for those who are unfamiliar.
Imagine you are that soft center of that maple candy I was talking about, but the hard shell is not part of you—it came from exposure to the world and the things you learned from childhood. Your shell represents all of your experiences and is imperfect but meant to guard your soft center.
Unless someone taught you about God when you were young, you probably have some components to your shell that repel the idea of being created by God. Some even have anti-God ingredients in their shell because of things they were exposed to—which doesn’t make God wrong, but the influence of the thought can harden that shell and make it harder to get to the soft center.
That’s not the whole problem, though, because that shell can insulate the inner nougat of your soul and keep it from hearing and accepting the truth. The core can be damaged by any number of things, so the shell keeps the core in a damaged state!
The words of Jesus (above) tell us the truth of our inner being. Some of us have been trapped in darkness beneath a hard shell, so we cannot see the light. Jesus is the Light of the World, and if we allow Him to, He will break through that dark outer wrapping and free us! That’s just the first step.
Once the Light liberates us, then we can learn the Truth. That’s when we discover that God loved us (then and now) so much that He gave HIS only begotten Son (Jesus) so that we could be reconciled to the God who created us and loves us. Also, Jesus agreed to the mission—as you can read in His own words (above).
Do you want to know more? Remember, asking them is the best way to know someone’s thoughts; conversation with God is as close as your breath. Talk to Him and ask Him to show you the Truth about Jesus. Jesus promised that God would lead us into the Truth if we asked. He also said God would not reject us.
Do you wonder what life will be like without that hard shell? Or what will change inside when Jesus, the Light of the World, comes in? Don’t be afraid to ask God questions. Remember, you are His beloved.
If you want to know more, feel free to comment below.
This was such a God inspired way of bringing beautiful truths to the light for those seeking... I absolutely loved reading this Cate... you have such a lovely Gift in your ability to share Christ within your writings... I am so grateful to share the path with you sister... hugs
I love that you were gifted to teach us through the use of analogies and many other ways you simplify complex ideas, such as parallels between King David and Jesus.