WHEN IN THE OVEN... (GUest Blog by Niki Melton)

My kids love cookies (and honestly, so do I!)  When we bake together, everyone gets to have a different job, but “putting the cookies into the oven” always belongs to me.  Safety, duh! Anyways, without fail, they always want to “see them cooking”. It is a fascinating idea, and one that we as Christians should apply as we live out loud for Jesus.  

• (Matthew 5:14-16) You are the light of the world.  A city situated on a hill cannot be hidden.  No one lights a lamp and puts it under a basket, but rather a lampstand, and it gives light for all who are in the house.  In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.

 
This is easily applied when you are out, “on fire for God”, forging a way in “Jesus name” through the darkness of our present world.  However, our lives are not compartmentalized by whether a moment “qualifies” as “Christian” or not.  How does that translate?  Sometimes we will have struggles, and it might get ugly.  Examples?  How about when you are disappointed because you didn’t get the job you thought God had for you, or a coworker injured you and is shaming you on social media, or you and your husband just had an ugly fight in front of the babysitter?  Maybe your mother is ill, your neighbor’s dog bit your child, or you are struggling with pornography.  These are regular everyday life moments.  The kind that you would see in any “city” whether on a hill, or not.  
 
Now, obviously the oven is necessary step in baking, and no one is under the misconception that the cookies are ready to eat until they are finished cooking and have cooled off. Yet it is still something we want to see.  It’s not that the cookies baking are a pretty process, but it invites curiosity nonetheless. Often they are lumpy and misshapen. The cookies are kinda bubbly, part edible texture, but part gooey dough.  As followers of Christ, aren’t we much the same?
 
So next time you feel like you are in the fire, don’t hide it.  Flip on that oven light and invite all to take a peek through the glass. After all, it is to the glory of your Divine Creator.
 

• (1 Peter 1:6-7) You rejoice in this, even though for a short time, if necessary, you suffer grief in various trials so that the proven character of your faith- more valuable than gold which, though perishable, is refined by fire- may result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.