Rice Krispies

The ooey gooey deliciousness of rice krispie treats takes me back to my childhood. After I came home from school, I immediately ran to the refrigerator knowing my mom left an entire plastic container full of this marshmallow snack. Of course, I ate the whole thing every time. I popped off the lip and zapped the rice crispy treats in the microwave to melt it just enough to make a mess eating it. The problem was, for whatever reason, my mom would reuse the same plastic container day after day. Overtime, the container began to wear and tear. The plastic would melt a little more with every batch. I never minded the container, it was about the goodness inside.

Paul reminds us that “even though our outward nature is decaying, our inward nature is being made new day after day” (2 Cor 4:16). Our bodies are like the container of rice krispie treats. We mustn’t become discouraged because it’s the inside that holds the good stuff. We are created “Imago Dei,” which means in the image of God. You have a glimpse of God held within you.

When God created us, God gave us fresh, new bodies like the rice krispies container before I began putting it the microwave. Our bodies are beautiful gifts from God. Too often, society wants to tell us what an ideal body ought to be. I call hogwash! If God created it, then it’s beautiful. Still, through the years we acquire a great deal of pains and scars. Since the day we were born, we’ve been getting older. It’s good advice to take care of our bodies, but even if we do, we’re still getting older.

We often become afraid, unhappy, and discouraged when we go through such physical changes. It feels like our bodies are betraying us. Our independence begins to slip away and everything takes a whole lot longer. This are real emotions to name, be aware of, and to process. Though I don’t want to minimize that struggle, I do believe that Christ reveals an avenue for encountering new life. By focusing on what’s inside us, each day can be an opportunity to start anew.

When God made us, God not only gave us a physical body, but we are also given a soul for spiritual life. Our Spirit can also become sick and worn out if we let negativity fester and we lose hope. Our strength comes from placing our trust in the Lord. Jesus wipes away all reason to doubt, to be fearful, and to give-in to cynicism.

With Christ, each day is like a container that is filled with a fresh batch of rice krispie treats. And guess what... this new life continues even after death. Though our bodies decay, we will be raised to live with a new glorious body. Here, nothing melts or withers. Here, our beauty is beyond anything we can imagine. This new life is in store for you and for me. This new life is ours because of Christ.

With messy hands,

Pr. Lucas McSurley

Photo by Wendy Rake