Are You Baking or Cooking?

The other day my Bride made me one of my favorite dishes - Kurush.  It is an Assyrian dish I grew up with.  Ironically, my wife makes it better than my mother did and I like it better than my dad's grandmother's dish.  Carey had also made the Kurush about a month ago and forgot a spice.  I barely noticed the difference until she made the most recent batch and had all the ingredients correct.  On many occasions when Care is making dinner I might hear her say that she is out of something she needs.  As a good little husband I offer to go to the store for her - hoping she will say no.  She usually will say she can substitute or use more of this or that to make up the difference.  That woman can cook!

Carey, however does not like to bake (even though she is very good at it).  She will tell me that when you are baking you have to be precise and use exactly what the recipe calls for and in the exact amounts.  There can be no substitutes or adding this and that to baking.  Just think of a favorite family dessert recipe;  if you change anything it is not the same - oh it can still taste alright but it is not how _____ made it.

Well, when I was in the shower this morning, I get a lot of ideas while in the shower - some good and some (too much info?  sorry).  I had a thought that cooking is a lot like life, we plan out good meals and sometimes we don't have what we planned for and have to make adjustments, just like life.  This may work well for living our lives but not for living for Christ.  Living the Christian life is more like baking, God has set down specific recipes for each of His children.  Thinking that if I am living short in one area I can make up for it in another is not His Way.

Now before I go any further I am not talking about Legalism; rules and regulations but about Holiness.  With Grace I am covered by Him, so the screw ups I make don't jeopardize my position in Christ but is does affect my standing or relationship with Him.  If you are a christian and know what I am talking about , you know I have just entered troubled grounds for many.  Let me make it clear; my salvation is as secure as the one it is in!  In other words, if my salvation relies on me, I am in big trouble, however if it is In Christ, it is as secure as He is - That's pretty secure to me.  Just to nail this down a little further; there is a difference between "Entrance" and "Inheritance".

Entrance:  You come over to my house and because of a disaster I open my home to you.  I will care for you, feed you and clothe you if necessary, however you can not rearrange the furniture nor change the paint on the walls without my permission.

Inheritance:  Instead of being a guest at my home, I have decide to leave it to you (give it to you).  Now you can do whatever you want with the house because it belongs to you - get the difference?

I didn't want to get this theological so let me just say; some will just enter Heaven and others will Inherit the Kingdom - that will have to be another Blog someday.

Bottom Line:  Are you Cooking for World or Baking for The Kingdom?