A Baking Lesson

When I bake a cake, I usually let my three-year old son join in. He sits on a chair and I would place a bowl on the table in front of him. I let him hold the measuring cup, as we add the ingredients one by one into the bowl. When we are done, I give him a fork to mix them up. He mixes them together a few times. I know his tiny hands are not strong enough to whisk the entire batter. So, I appreciate his help and take it up from there. I use an electric blender, and when the batter is done, I pour them into pans and put them in the oven till they are done. Alright, this is not meant to be a post on "how to bake a cake"!

When the cake is ready to be eaten with the frosting (or icing) on it, John proudly tells his dad: "Mama and Johnny made the cake." Now, I could have done it all by myself, which would have been quicker and less messy. The focus is not on the cake that needs to get done, but we do it together because we both enjoy it, and in the process, he also acquires some skills. He learns to hold up the measuring cup steadily, and he learns how to bake a cake.

It makes me think that it is quite similar to how God lets us join in His Work. He does not need our help at all. In fact, it wouldn't take him long to appear to everyone in a dream and reveal Himself. Messy, disobedient and reluctant as we are, God entrusts His precious gospel to us, just because He loves us! Of course, God works in us in the process. When Jonah decided to disobey God, He could have easily chosen another prophet who would comply. He didn't do that! He patiently worked in Jonah till he obeyed. Something urgent had to be done, but I am so glad God isn't task-oriented.

There are still a lot of people around the world who have not yet heard the Good News. God is certainly more concerned about it that we are. But, He is also more interested in His relationship with individuals and in the process rather than getting 'it' done. So, He may not push a hesitant disciple into a mission field. Though we don't always understand, we just trust and believe that God is love and full of wisdom, and He knows exactly what is best.

Let us serve God in the attitude that we are doing His work, and not accomplishing something for Him. We can never please God with our best human efforts, just like my son's efforts to bake a cake by himself would be! But, when we choose to play a role in what He is already doing, He can use our little for His glory. "So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.'" (Luke 17:10)

Whatever You Do....

Have you ever felt that hours of hard work do not pay off? You are not looking for applause, but you just want acceptance. I’ve been through it – when I work on an article for weeks and it gets dumped, when I work so passionately on an idea and it gets scraped, when I spend sleepless nights to come up with a perfect design, but someone else’s design is preferred. I do it all ‘for God’, but so much of my time and effort is wasted and that disappoints me! I’m sure you have a similar story to tell.

But such situations only clarify our motives. I learnt that I need not get my article published in order to glorify God. Whether it is published or dumped, I can still glorify God by working wholeheartedly and sincerely.

We read in Colossians 3:23, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.” “Whatever you do” implies whatever you do irrespective of whether it is accepted or rejected, appreciated or criticised, noticed or unnoticed, whether it is an ‘important’ task or a ‘trivial’ one.

When we work as working for the Lord and not for men, we only need to be concerned about the process, not about the result. You don’t have to feel bad when your idea is not accepted. For God, it does not matter whether your idea is a ‘success’ or a ‘failure’. He is more concerned about the heart. So, your time and effort is not really wasted. After all, you haven’t lost your heavenly reward yet!