From Ingredients to Presentation
Though I don’t do much of it anymore, I enjoy working in the kitchen. Cooking up a pot of homemade pasta sauce, experimenting with a new recipe, baking a traditional family dessert—these activities are enjoyable and can bring back great memories. When things turn out as intended (which honestly does not happen on a consistent basis), it’s a win for everyone!
My daughter, however, takes “working in the kitchen” to a new level. What she accomplishes can only be described as Culinary Art. What began as a hobby has turned into a cottage industry as requests for her unique skills continuously grow. Her specialties are desserts and hors d'oeuvres. Vegan? Gluten-free? No problem! Where many of us struggle to make palatable options for those on restricted diets, she prepares delicious and mouth-watering delicacies.
This did not happen by accident. My daughter has a passion for food and delights in expressing that passion. She understands food. She “gets” flavor nuances, and food science, and pairings. From the source of ingredients to the final presentation, the food she prepares is an act of love.
In the beginning, God threw something together on a whim. Um . . . no.
“In the beginning, God created . . . ” – Genesis 1:1
God CREATED. God purposefully considered what he was about to do. From the ingredients to the presentation, God’s creation was meant to be a work of intentional art.
When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers— the moon and the stars you set in place— What are mere mortals that you should think about them, human beings that you should care for them? – Psalm 8:3-4
There is a purpose and a plan. God created the universe, and the creatures, and the people—all because the love of God could not be contained, and God HAD to create. God understands his creation. He “gets” us because he became us.
I have more than my share of kitchen failures, and even my daughter experiences a mistake now and then. And that’s where this example breaks down because, with God, there are no failures and no mistakes.
Clearly, we are broken, but we are mistaken if we believe our purpose is fulfilled in our current state. God continuously forms his creation as he lives through us with whispers of mercy, acts of grace, blessings of forgiveness, and gestures of love.
And the final presentation?
“This includes you who were once far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions. Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault." – Colossians 1:21-22
Photo courtesy of Brittany Woods