Thoughtful Thursday

Time To Make the Doughnuts

I just love Krispy Kreme doughnuts! I bring them to my Sunday School class every Sunday morning, so they can taste their savory sweetness as we study the Word. They are so good! We get the original glazed doughnuts…the ones where the glaze is almost dripping off the dough, but hangs on just enough so you can catch it if it starts to fall. The dough itself is perfectly fried…not too much…not too little. It almost melts in your mouth.

I was thinking about these doughnuts the other day, when it dawned on me, that even though they seem perfect, and they’re even shaped like a circle, which is the symbol of completeness, something is missing. There is a hole in the middle. Then, I got to thinking about that hole. In order to make these doughnuts, something had to be cast aside…thrown away. But wait! That doughnut hole that was cast aside, was   reinvented and given a new purpose. They are available to bring just as much joy as the doughnut itself!

People can be like this. Someone can be wealthy, pretty, handsome, or successful, and yet something can be missing. Conversely, someone can feel that they’ve been cast aside, or that they have nothing to offer, when in fact, they have a valuable purpose. This reminds me of a couple of people in the Bible.

John 3:1-3:  Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council.

He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.”

Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.”

In the eyes of the world, Nicodemus was very successful. He was a ruler in that territory. He had power and authority, but something was missing. He had the “ head” knowledge, but not the “ heart” knowledge. He seemed complete, but he had not been born again.

Now, let’s look at another perspective.

Matthew 9:20-22:  And behold, a woman which was diseased with an issue of blood twelve years, came behind Him, and touched the hem of His garment.

For she said within herself, “If I may but touch His garment, I shall be whole.” 

But Jesus turned Him about, and when He saw her, He said, “Daughter, be of good comfort, thy faith hath made thee whole.” And the woman was made whole from that hour.

In the eyes of the world, this woman was unclean. She had been cast aside,  just like that doughnut hole. But, because of her faith in Jesus, she was restored, and given new life, and new purpose.

Perhaps today, you are like one of these people mentioned in the Bible. You might think you’re, “all that,” that you’ve made it on your own…that you are doing just fine the way you are. You may be like Nicodemus.

Perhaps you are down on yourself. You may feel down and out, but you know that Jesus is your rock, and He will sustain you. You may have faith like the woman with the issue of blood.

Ask yourself today…Are you the doughnut…or are you the hole?

Psalm 34:8 tells us, “O taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man that trusts in Him.”

Have a great Thursday!