We love to bake with our kiddos right? Or do we? If you know me, you know that I love to bake. Not only do I love it, it is often an escape for me. When I am sad, I bake. When I want to celebrate, I bake. When I have company, its not a party unless I bake. I usually think I like to bake with my son George until my clean kitchen is a mess and he is uninterested about 1/3 of the way through as he runs through the house half clothed (because that is apparently his favorite outfit - as any visitors to my home would be happy to tell you) and I am left with a recipe half done and flour everywhere and a hot oven. I then have to choose to let him run amuck half naked and finish the recipe or throw in the towel and surrender the unbaked ingredients to the trash can. I usually let him run around and I finish the recipe which makes my house even more of a mess and includes a lot of risks from clogged toilets and missing toothbrushes to possible broken bones from attempts to fly like a dragon off the couch.
But when he does make it through the whole recipe it makes that batch of cookies so much sweeter. I love the look of accomplishment on his face, I love the experience as we create something together. I love it so much that I continue to invite him to bake with me, whenever I can, even though there is a risk that the whole idea will flop.
Lincoln likened this God's relationship with us. God likes to bake with us. He likes to include us in his "kingdom coming". Does he need us in the process? Absolutely not. He does not need us. In fact, if he left us out of it, there would be a lot less mess, less broken-ness, less risk, less missing pieces, less dumb mistakes, less clogged toilets (ok, maybe not that). But he wants us to be a part of the process, to experience the blessing of a finished product, to have a sense of accomplishment (without pride, mind you). Thats why he lets us help. He's just like me when George looks at me and says,"Mommy, can I 'make' with you?" I just melt like Baker's chocolate and of course I get out his plastic measuring cup and the wooden spoon. And thats what God does too. If we are interested in the process, he immediately gets out all the tools and hands them to us, each at the perfect time. He measures out the perfect amount and helps us as we pour each ingredient into the bowl. He guides our inexperienced hand as we awkwardly try to stir the ingredients. He scoops up the part that we catapulted across the room and puts it back in the bowl so the recipe will not be too dry or flat. He gently scolds us when we take too many finger-fuls of batter for ourselves. And then, when we run off and loose interest because something more fun or interesting catches our attention, he takes care of whatever we failed to do to make the cookies turn out perfect. If for some reason we actually finish the recipe, lets be careful to let God put the tray in the oven. None of us kids have any business near the hot oven. Do not get burned, let God do God's part.
I told you he likes to be half dressed- this is not staged
Mom, Gra'ma and Bertie's Oatmeal Cookie Recipe
mmmmmm cookies!
So, lesson: We are invited into the process God's "kingdom coming" but not because God needs us. We are invited because God wants us there, mess and all. And we can not fear that we will be unsuccessful, or that we will make a mess of the situation. God works through all that. The main thing is that we are in the kitchen, and that we follow His lead. The more we bake with Him, the batter we'll be at it. If you've made it this far, thanks for sticking with me through all the baker's puns. I think I 'll go make a batch right now...where's my little helper?!
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