Butter and Sugar

“Sherry, did you take a bite out of this stick of butter?” asked my mother. My answer? “NO!”

That was one lie my mother let slide when I was about 5!! It was obvious I was the culprit who had gone into the refrigerator and taken a bite out of the stick of butter. Not to mention, I dipped it in the sugar dish before indulging!! I learned of the yummy taste of a butter and sugar combo when I licked the bowl my mother used for mixing up a cake. So one day I helped myself to a little butter and sugar. Being the naive little girl that I was, I didn’t have a clue that I left major clues such as tiny teeth marks in the stick of butter. My mother knew it was me and not my sister. Marcia already had a front tooth missing. The reality is that for several years, until I grew a little older, I honestly thought my mother didn’t know it was me!!!

It wasn’t until about 10 that she told me of her wisdom in knowing how she knew it was me! How many times do we do, think, or say things and we think God does not know?!! I really think we act like 5 year olds when we sneak around or blatantly do things that hurt God. We somehow think THE ALL-KNOWING GOD THAT HE IS, just doesn’t see. I think I/we are JUST PLAIN IGNORANT!! Maybe it is because we can’t see God or it could be the “out of sight out of mind” mentality. Whatever!! Well, that is the farthest thing from the truth! WE all, me first and foremost, need to just take a STEP BACK and think about the fact that GOD SEES! NOT ONLY DOES HE SEE EVERYTHING, He knows our thoughts. WE cannot hide from God almighty!!! HE is an all-knowing GOD!!!

Let’s just look at 2 stories in the Bible. One, found in Matthew and Mark, is the account of the woman who had been bleeding for 12 years. Mark relays a more detailed version. She had heard of Jesus healing the sick and, “she thought to herself, if I just touch his garment I will be healed.” She approached Jesus from behind. She touched him and was healed. In Mark it tells that Jesus turned around and said, “Who touched me?” The disciples’ reaction was something like, “Duh!! Look at the crowd??? Everyone is touching you!!” But Jesus KNEW that the woman had touched Him and had been healed. She came to Jesus and fell on her face at His feet and confessed that she had touched Jesus. Jesus said, “Daughter your faith has made you well, go in peace, and be healed of your disease.”

The second story is found in John chapter 4 when Jesus encounters the Samaritan woman at the well. Jesus testified to her and told her many things that He knew about her. She left her water jar and ran into town and said, “Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?”

Is it that we forget that God sees or is it that WE DON’T CARE, and we disobey anyway????? As a Christian, I just have to be honest. I haven’t cared before and I just went and did what I wanted to do anyway! Was there sin? Yes, but the sin was tied to a sin problem of idolatry. What is your idol? What comes between you and God? Sin is all around. It is everywhere and more obvious today than ever, but ask yourself……What is your idol? Your secret? What do you bow to over God? There is not a human alive that doesn’t battle a secret sin that no one sees, hidden deep in the crevices of your life. So deep it is hard for you to see because it is “your normal” or “your M.O.”.

On the “Back 9,” my relationship has gone to a new level with Christ, a more PERSONAL AUTHENTIC LEVEL…where I truly recognize His voice because I have taken the time to slow down………pay attention………. Sit quietly and listen. Study and read His word and take a long hard look at the stuff I didn’t want to see. I really have NO DESIRE TO INTENTIONALLY DISOBEY. If you love someone, your desire should be to never INTENTIONALLY or BLATANTLY HURT THEM. Well, that is exactly the kind of relationship that Christ wants us to have with HIM. The relationship is so strong and genuine that you value it above EVERYTHING AND EVERYONE else.

Even though the “woman at the well” had a past she wasn’t proud of, Jesus was quick to forgive her. He desired for her to KNOW HIM. God’s grace is loving people for who they are, where they are. It’s loving people before they change, not just after they change.

I have no idea where you are spiritually. If you are reading this post, know God loves you right where you are! He desires to live in your heart and occupy the crevices of your heart. HE takes you right where you are and can transform you with His love and presence into a “new YOU”. He takes hearts of stones and makes them into hearts of “flesh”. You are never too far for Christ to reach you right where you are.

There are times when it is good to be like a 5 year old. It is not in the moments when we want to sneak butter from the refrigerator and dip it into sugar. It is in having a child-like faith. Trusting God with all your being. Allowing Him total access to your heart. He already knows. Why not trust Him and grow to know HIM more intimately?

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