Issue 1559 – Spaghetti – September 25, 2024
I was standing in the kitchen with a dilemma. The spaghetti I wanted to make for supper was a foot long, but my pot was only eight inches wide. There are two ways to get the spaghetti in the pot. I can break it in two, or I can put one end in boiling water and allow it to soften and slowly bend.
It isn’t a big problem; I have done both in the past, but as I prepare the meal, it strikes me that there is a spiritual parallel here.
Just as I had only one pot to work with, there is only one path to heaven.
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.” John 14:6-7
Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved. Acts 4:12
There are only a limited number of ways that we can fit through that gate. The circumstances of life must break us, and in our brokenness, we turn to Christ. That is how I came to know the Lord. Sometimes, life’s circumstances heat and soften us, and we yield to Him.
Either way, we will fit in the pot.
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name,that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:9-11
Interestingly, when spaghetti is manufactured, it does not start hard. It is pretty soft and must be dried and hardened. People are the same way. Although we are born with a sin nature in a fallen world, children are softer and find it easier to seek and accept Jesus than adults do.
As we age, we grow harder, more cynical, and less trusting. It is much harder for an adult to accept Jesus than a child. It takes much more boiling and breaking for us to humble ourselves.
According to Religioustolerance.org, the website of Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance, there is a definite correlation between age and accepting Christ.
They cite a Barna study, which shows that the vast majority of those who are saved experience the conversion during childhood — before the age of 14.
A person who is unsaved at 14 only has a 10% chance of being “saved” later in life. The survey also showed that about 40% of all American adults consider themselves to have been saved during their lifetime, which agrees with previous surveys.
Age 5-13 32% Accept Christ
Age 14-18 4% ” “
over 19 6% ” “
Life hardens. Only the Holy Spirit can soften those hard hearts.
Until next time, may your heart be as soft as cooked spaghetti.
Be blessed
Hallelu Yah / Praise God
Kevin
Gleanings From The Word
Experience an extraordinary God in ordinary life.
Soli Deo Gloria (For the glory of God alone)
Never let the enemy tell you that you are worthless or insignificant. Your value in God’s eyes is so great that it was worth dying for. You are a blessing to the world. You are so precious to God that his plan for heaven will not be complete without you.
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