HOW IS DECORATING
A CAKE LIKE GOD’S BEAUTIFICATION PROCESS ON US
INTRODUCTION
The
Birth of a Cake
At birth we push our way out of our mother’s
little room of incubation, and as human beings, our physical bodies are fully
formed. If we are compared to cakes
coming out of the oven, it is the Lord God who has stirred up the batter that
each one of us is made from.
To each container
of batter, from which our body and soul is formed, God adds different ingredients
or human qualities to make each one of us quite unique. As cakes can be made in many different flavors
and varieties, the same is true of all of God’s children.
Some of us may be
born with more musical ablility than others and be destined to be concert
violinists. Others may be made with
heaping spoonfuls of compassion, and they are meant to follow in the footsteps
of Mother Theresa. Then some of us may
have a knack for working with young children, and are destined to become school
teachers or mothers. No matter what natural
talents and qualities God places within us, if we are compared to individual
cakes, each one of us has our own delicious and delightful mixes of different flavors.
The
Cake’s Destination
While a cake
meant for a special occasion is not quite finished when it comes out of the
oven, the same is true of us at birth.
Our destiny in the Lord God’s desires and plans, if we are to be likened
to cakes, is to be transformed into a work of art that is beautiful enough to
be the centerpiece at a royal wedding.
The
Master Cake Decorator
Since God is the
one who has created us, He is the only one who knows how to shape each one of
us into something beautiful. He does
this by making use of all the specific qualities and talents that He has placed
within us. He is the only one who knows
the true destiny that He has planned for each one of us to follow. He is the only one who can perfect and fine
tune the human qualities, abilities, and talents that will enable us to shine forth
for Him and His Son, Jesus. He will
enable us to understand how to glorify and further His name. We alone cannot do this by ourselves. For if we try to follow the destiny of our
own choosing, and we go against the Lord God’s plans for our lives, we will
find ourselves further and further away from the Lord’s guidance, peace, mercy,
and love.
Preliminary
Preparations Prior to Decorating
In order to be
able to be made beautiful in the Lord God’s eyes, we must have God’s Holy Spirit
dwelling within us. For it is His Holy
Spirit which points us in the direction that the Lord God wants us to follow. In order for this to happen we must accept
God’s Son, Jesus, as our Lord and Savior, and ask Him to come into our
heart. We need to ask the Lord God to change
us and transform us from within, that we would be acceptable as His child. The most important part of this
transformation process is that we must develop a relationship with God through
His Son, Jesus, with prayer, praise, and worship.
In order to heed
the Lord God’s guidance throughout this lifelong beautification process, we
need to be aware of His presence in our lives.
We need to be aware of the active part that He takes in leading us on
His straight and narrow path. God
watches over us and does everything He can to direct us to the destiny that He
desires us to follow as we grow. He may
enlighten us as to what should be our life’s work through the talents that we
exhibit.
Therefore, it is
important to recognize His still small voice within us, and to listen for it speaking
to us, or tugging at our heartstrings. If
we will do these things God will make it clear to us what He wants us to accomplish
for Him in our lives.
At times God may also
speak to us through other people, which is usually to confirm something that we
already know in our hearts and minds.
Therefore as warm cakes just taken out of the oven, our molding and
shaping process has only just begun.
THE STEPS IN
DECORATING A CAKE
Step
One: A Template Needed
In the first step
in cake decorating, a baker needs a drawing or template to guide him in
frosting a cake. The Lord God also
needs a model to go by in order to start the beautification process on His
called and chosen children. What does He
use as His model? He uses His Son, Jesus,
for we are all to become more like His Son, Jesus, even with some of His
stripes and wounds.
Step
Two: Tools Used for Decorating
What are the
utensils that God uses to transform us into something beautiful in His
eyes? Our destiny, as well as the
situations, events, and experiences that we go through, are the utensils that
the Lord God uses to transform us. He also
uses the “lights” that He places nearby, which are the people who truly know
Him, and have the ability to teach us His ways.
God also,
throughout our lives, places us in all types of situations to test our growth and
resolve in Him. However, if we follow a
worldly path, and not the path that God has chosen for us, He will try to bring
us back closer to Him with situations or problems that may not be pleasant. This could be through sickness, afflictions,
and through the trials and troubles that He may put us through.
Step
Three: Putting on the Base Frosting
The next step in
decorating a cake is to cover the entire cake with one layer of frosting so that
no crumbs are visible. This first layer
of frosting represents a smooth canvas on which to decorate.
What does God use
for His canvas that He places upon us?
This base coat would be learning about Him and His Son, Jesus, and understanding
His blueprint for us on how we should live our lives. These things are all written about in His
beautiful book, the Bible.
Any sinful or
heathen ways that we’ve acquired from this world need to be purged from our
hearts and minds. This will enable us to
become more pliable for the Lord God’s beautification and purification process to take effect. For God desires us to pattern our lives according
to the wisdom and the teachings in His Bible.
Little children can
be taught by their parents, and at church Sunday school, about the Lord God and
His Son, Jesus. However, once we become
grownups, our main emphasis for more in depth learning should be specifically
the King James edition of God’s Bible.
We have found
some churches have their own specific doctrine, which sometimes is not Biblical. Therefore, closely following the Bible’s
teachings, as well as asking for the Lord’s help to better understand His Words,
is the best alternative. By doing these
things we will avoid getting involved with some of the false teaching and
fables that exist in some Christian churches today.
Step
Four: Preparing the Decorative
Frosting
After the base
layer of frosting is applied, it is time to prepare the topping that will make
the cake a magnificent one to behold. These
toppings could be in red, green, purple, yellow, pink, brown, and blue. The color combinations will bring “oohh’s” and
“ahhh’s” to the people who look at it, and also bring a delight to their souls.
What are the
“decorative frostings” that the Lord God chooses to make us more delightful and
lovely to look at? Many of the colors
are definitely not what would appeal to those people immersed in the
world. Some of the colors that God
decorates His children with are humility, patience, affection, passion, love, and
compassion. He also desires His children
to be hospitable, charitable, conscientious, faithful, and trustworthy. He desires us to speak out to defend others
who are wrongly accused, and to be kind to the widows and orphans of this world. The Lord God desires all His chosen and
called children to display many of these qualities.
Another quality which
I have discovered during my walk with the Lord God is that He does not want His
children to be slothful. We are not to
waste our time on frivolous pursuits, but to stay busy and use our time
wisely. We are to live our lives
according to His Words, do His will, and use the talents that He has placed
within us to glorify His name. We are to
also testify to others about Him and His Son, Jesus.
Step
5: Decorating the Cake
After covering
the cake with a flat coat of frosting, so that no part of the actual cake is
visible, it is time to use our imagination and our model to make the cake a
beautiful one. We can dot the cake’s edge
with a scallop of red sugary lace. We
can squirt a pattern of purple diamonds along the side of its face. Yellow flowers can be piped upon its top to
wear, and green leaves to accompany its outdoorsy flair.
The most
enjoyable and best part, for those who have ever decorated a cake, is this
final step in placing all of the beautiful colors and designs on our waiting
cake. The Lord God decorates His called
and chosen children with the qualities and traits that make them more beautiful
and lovely in His eyes.
Suppose one of
the Lord God’s called children has difficulties with being patient, and that is
one of the colors that the Lord needs to beautify that child with. To apply that color to that individual the
Lord will put that person in situations that require him or her to be patient,
such as standing in a long check-out line at the grocery store. Then over time, slowly, through multiple
patience testing experiences, that color of patience will start to take
hold. As that happens the Lord will
stand back and look at that person and say, “My, that child is truly becoming more
worthy, special, and beautiful in My eyes.” Just as we would say the same if we
were decorating a cake for a special occasion.
During this
process of transformation, the Lord God removes the old shabby rags that this
world has dressed us in. He adorns us not
on the outside, but on the inside, with the new heavenly garments and qualities
that will make us look more like His Son, Jesus. Without the Lord God’s love and fatherly guidance
we can go around in circles through this life, without progressing, without
truly maturing, and without being prepared for the heavenly banquet that He has
invited His called and chosen ones to attend.
Matthew 22:11-13:
11 And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment:
12 And he saith unto him, Friend, how comest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless.
13 Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
During this decorating
and courting process, which can last a lifetime, the Lord God takes great care
to strengthen the beautiful attributes, talents, and qualities which He has
placed within us. For He wants us to
discover them, so we can use them for His purpose and glory here. Sometimes these attributes, talents, and
qualities may have become buried or inhibited through fear, worry, and through
many years of living in this world. God
helps us to work through these obstacles which may have prevented Him from
molding and shaping us to be the beautiful children we were originally meant to
be for Him and His Son, Jesus.
Through this life
long process God is preparing us to be the beautiful bride of His Son,
Jesus. He is also preparing us for His
banquet feast in the heavens above. He
is transforming us in our hearts, minds, and souls for this mementous occasion.
Without the Lord God in our lives to change us from within, and to remove the
old rags that this world has dressed us in, we would continually just go around
in circles, without progressing. We
would be totally unprepared for the beautiful eternal life He has waiting for
us.
For our purpose
is not to sit inactive in the church pews week after week, month after month,
year after year. Instead, we are to develop
a close relationship with the Lord through daily prayer, the reading of His
words, and living our lives to do His will. We also need to learn to tell others about God
and His Son, Jesus.
Therefore, we
need to become one of God’s beautiful ones. We need to ask Him to change us, to take away
the ways of the world that have become ingrained in us, so that He can start the
decorating process of making us beautiful children in His eyes.
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