If you’ve known me for a while, or even if you are new to reading the devotionals or hearing me speak, there’s something that you probably know…I have a sweet tooth. I try to keep it in check. I try not to talk about it every single time that I share something. I try to eat a fairly balanced diet. But, the fact remains, I like my sweets. Included in my fondness for sweets is a liking of pie. As my friend Pastor Tom used to say, “I like two kinds of pie…hot & cold.” (There’s a good chance you’ve heard that from me before…but, come on, it’s still funny…and true…except for coconut cream pie…I don’t like that in any form.)
Pie = Delicious.
Ok. So I like the pie hot, I like the pie cold, I like a bunch of different flavors of pies, but do you want to know one of my favorites, especially at this time of year? Great! I’ll tell you.
Warm, wild blackberry pie with vanilla ice cream.
Oh man. That’s some good stuff right there! I’m starting to salivate as I’m typing. It’s delicious, and now is the perfect time to get some. This is the perfect time of year to get a warm, fresh, homemade, wild blackberry pie.
Why? Why is this the perfect time for me to get a warm, fresh, homemade, wild blackberry pie? Right now, as I type there are wild blackberry plants bearing ripe, delicious blackberries. Right now they are hanging on the bushes, plump and juicy, ready to eat. Right now wild blackberries are ready for consumption, ready for a pie. They’ve been that way for a little while, and the season won’t last long. Right now is the perfect time for a warm, wild blackberry pie (one of my favorites) and yet…no pie for me.
No pie for me?!?!?
No pie for me.
I know at this point you’re wondering why I’m not getting a pie. Let’s go through some possible answers.
- I’m not close to the aforementioned blackberries. Nope! There are some right on my driveway and there are more within walking distance.
- I’ve given up sweets. Nope! I’ve done that before and will do it again but right now I’m enjoying the sugar.
- I don’t know how to make one. Nope! I’ve made pies, and I enjoy it (mostly). I even have a new pie crust recipe that I’m excited to try.
So what’s the problem?
It’s two-fold.
One…I’m busy. Like busy, busy. There’s a good deal of stuff happening in a lot of different areas, and I’m doing my best to try to prayerfully keep on top of everything that needs done. Pie making? Not much time for that. As much as I would enjoy a pie, it’s not going to happen right now. Too busy.
Two…I keep eating the blackberries before they get home.
Christa, Silas and I have gone on walks, we’ve seen the delicious looking blackberries, we’ve picked the delicious looking blackberries…and we’ve eaten the delicious tasting blackberries…with me consuming the largest amount. Not one single berry has made it home from our walks. Not one. (Granted, we didn’t take any containers and the goal wasn’t to pick berries, it was to walk…but still…every ripe berry that has been picked has been consumed.)
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not sorry that we ate the blackberries. They were delicious, and I had no real intention of bringing any home to make a pie (see reason number one as to why I’m not getting a blackberry pie anytime soon). But, as much as I like fresh blackberries, they’re even better in pie form! I know that if I had held off from eating them, if I had brought them home, if I had made a pie, I would have enjoyed them even more, the blackberries would have been even better.
Granted, all of this really isn’t that big of a deal. It’s just a pie, and I’m perfectly fine without it. I’m not going to starve, and I have plenty of other sweets available to consume. However, it does make me consider more important issues. I wonder, how many times do I miss out on the blessings of God (or miss out on God) because I am too busy, or because I am too caught up with eating all of the berries before they make it to the pie?
There are times in life when we get busy, and we decide to cut things out. For me, right now, being busy means no time to bake a pie. It cannot mean no time for God. No matter how busy, how hectic, how jam-packed and crazy my life gets, I need to make certain to make time for God. This needs to be a priority. My relationship with the Lord needs to get top billing. Number one spot. Sometimes it doesn’t, and I can suffer because of it. It’s OK to cut out pie…even if I miss wild blackberry season. It’s OK to cut out a lot of things that we enjoy. It’s not OK to cut out God. We need God more than the air that we breathe. We need to make God a priority in our life. Other things may be removed. God may not.
Exodus 20:3 says, “You shall have no other gods before me.” We know this as the first commandment, but it also applies as the first priority. God comes first. No matter how busy life gets, no matter how many “have tos” are piling up, God can not be skipped over or passed aside like a blackberry pie, some sweet thing to enjoy if we are able. God is foundational, essential, non-negotiable. We cannot put other gods before the Lord.
There are also times in my life when I eat the berries early and they don’t make it to the pie. There are reasons for this. I’m hungry. I’m tired. I don’t have a container. The berries look so good…right now.
But, I wonder, “Does this happen with God?” Sometimes, I think that in my life with Christ it can be even worse. Sometimes, I can grab blackberries that haven’t ripened or that have ripened too much. I can eat fruit that is unworthy of a pie. Other times, I can grab fruit that looks good to eat, but it turns out to be poisonous. All along I should be collecting the ripe fruit that God has given and be waiting for the pie that God provides.
Life with Christ involves patience. It involves waiting. It involves putting off what may seem good, now, for what is better, later. It also involves avoiding fruit that might look good on the surface but is poisonous when eaten.
Genesis 3:6 says, “When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.”
If only they could have waited for the pie made from the fruit of the Lord! Instead, they ate the fruit that “looked” good and promised “good results” but came up way short.
We are called to live lives faithfully unto the Lord. No snacking on trees that are prohibited, and yet sometimes we find ourselves munching on things prematurely or on things that we were never meant to consume.
Wait for what God provides! Wait for the good fruit that God gives! Wait for the pie and don’t settle for less.
~ Pastor Chris
