Do you ever miss a step in a recipe and find yourself with a mess instead of a meal? Somedays, we sometimes fail to fully read and follow the instructions. We’re distracted or think we know better. Sometimes with cooking on the stovetop, there is room for creativity. However, when it comes to baking, there is little to no wiggle room.
When I was in college (before a medical diagnosis required me to go gluten free), I tried baking honey wheat bread from scratch. I was living with my sister at the time, and we just stood at the oven after the bread had cooled, eating warm, moist piece after piece with nothing on it because it was just.that.good.
Fast forward a few years to when I was single and still living with my sister, and I realized it had been a long time since that first bread experiment. Why? Well, it is a time-intensive project to make wheat bread from scratch since you have to let the yeast rise at various points in the process.
Is it gratifying? Yes.
Is it nourishing? Yes.
Do other people benefit? Yes.
The study of Scripture is similar to baking. You start with a recipe (a passage in the Word). You make note of the ingredients, go shopping, and prepare according to the recipe (study the Word, make note of the principles and lessons, and make a plan to live it out). Then you reap the benefits of preparing the dish according to the recipe. Makes sense, right?
Now, consider what happens when you don’t follow the recipe. For example, if you try to substitute coconut flour for almond flour, you’ll find out rather quickly it is not a 1:1 substitute. You’ll wind up with a dense brick instead of a moist loaf of banana bread.
Can you make the analogy? When we try to take shortcuts or make substitutions to the principles in God’s Word, things don’t go right. The Bible is not a list of rules set to take the fun out of life. It shows us how to live the best life! It is for freedom that Christ set us free (Galatians 5:1).
So, when we study the Word and follow the “recipe,” is it time-intensive? Yes.
Is it gratifying? Yes.
Is it nourishing? Yes.
Do other people benefit? Yes.
