Pecan Pie

Nothing compares to my grandma’s pecan pie on Christmas day! Her secret was a delicious layer of cinnamon streusel on top. Although she has passed, we still try our best to replicate the recipe. To be honest, it never tastes as good. Don’t get me wrong, the recipe still makes it worth eating, but when she made it, it was indescribably mouthwatering.

It begs the question… would you rather have only one slice of the best pie imaginable? Or, have mediocre pie for the rest of your life? God seems to think, and I agree, that giving us a slice of the best tasting pie is the most loving thing to do. The comparison of pie and Jesus might be a stretch, but the premise is analogous. We can’t perfectly replicate my grandma’s pecan pie, but we may get closer and closer.

On Christmas, we are given the precious gift of Jesus. God doesn’t need Jesus, we do! Why? Because the fullness of love is revealed. God is made known, and we now know the sensation of the best tasting pie. We know what love looks like. True, we may spend the rest of our life trying to recreate the pie, albeit unsuccessfully, but at least we know what we’re striving for. If we want to know love, look to Jesus. To know love is to concern ourselves with the things that Jesus was concerned about. To do love, is to do what Jesus did.

What did Jesus do and care about? Jesus advocated for the poor, fed the hungry, tended to the sick, and welcomed the stranger. Where traditional lines of inclusion were drawn, Jesus expanded them. Jesus had harsh criticism for the powerful and assuring words for the powerless. We will never achieve the kind of love revealed through Christ, but using the recipe, we must still strive.

The Gospel of John tells us that “the Word became flesh and dwells among us” (John 1:14). God is revealed to us. In other words, God does not originate in us. God moves to us. Sometimes we forget that we are following a recipe. When we love, we are pointing to God. Loving people, serving others, and creating moments of spiritual transcendence is our way of trying our hand at baking my grandma’s pecan pie. Glimmers of God may be revealed through us, but we are not God.

Friends, there is no room for judgmental self-righteousness once we realize that we are following a recipe. Because we are not my grandma, we will always fall short. We will miss our target often, but that is part of life. My prayer is that we are grateful for the love that originates in God. This Christmas, may we give thanks for greatest gift of all, the fullest expression of God’s love, Christ Jesus.

Adding cinnamon streusel,

Pastor Lucas

Photo by Tetiana Shadrina