Imitation Cheese

I'm currently doing the dairy free thing.  It is temporary.  I tell myself that time and time again.  Sometimes it helps and sometimes it doesn't.  When its all over, I will most certainly be drinking a large glass of super cold chocolate milk.  And eating cookies made with real butter.  Mmmmmm.  It's been a real challenge but I've been asking God what I can learn from it lately.  Here's a little nugget of wisdom He shared with me this afternoon.

It's incredible.  The number of imitation dairy products out there seem limitless.  There's Silk (imitation milk made from soy), Rice Cream (imitation ice cream made from rice), all kinds of imitation cheese (made from various products).  It's astounding how good these options can SEEM.  We have a particular kind of imitation cheese in our fridge right now and toady as I set out making the boys some grilled cheese for lunch, I decided to use some of this imitation cheese to make my own grilled cheese sandwich.

Boy, was I disappointed.  This imitation cheese didn't even come close.  The melt in your mouth, warm, ooey gooey-ness of what a real grilled cheese sandwich tastes like was on my mind but certainly not in my mouth.  That's when I realized something useful, and God himself redeemed my terrible dining experience into a life lesson that we can hopefully all apply!

God promises that His plan for us is good.  He promises that even though it is hard to obey His commands and even though other people might not always agree with or think kindly of our obedience that the end result of our obedience will always be good.  Good because it is for His ultimate glory.  Often when we get tired of being obedient or when we feel that we are missing out on some great thing that the world has to offer, we look for a clever imitation that seems to be good but lets face it in the end, its just as bad as that awful imitation cheese.  So today I'm challenging myself and all of you to think of what imitation we are settling for.  Lets trash the imitation and hold out in obedience for what God has for us all.

John 6:27

Do not labor for the food that perishes,

but for the food that endures to eternal life,

which the Son of Man will give to you.

For on him God the Father has set his seal.