Savor More than Candy Canes!

Thank You, Father, for a productive day. Many of the components for Sunday’s service are in place. Your direction and encouragement helped so much!

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When my head hit the pillow last night, I thought of something and actually mulled it over a bit before finally going to sleep. My thoughts were on Candy Canes! I know that Christmas is now past, and I wasn’t craving one, but I did get a few of them in gifts from my bus kids this year.

I like them but they are not something that I just have to have and cannot get enough of. (Chocolate maybe, but not Candy Canes!) I have one a few times throughout the whole Christmas season and am happy with that.

I think that those who enjoy them, have different ways of doing so. Some are biters and chewers. I do this occasionally but when we go this route it’s a bit more difficult to savor, to taste with pleasure, to relish, to delight in (as Merriam-Webster would say). They can be enjoyed but boy they go fast and then all that is left is that lingering tingle on your tongue, lips, and cheeks!

To truly savor Candy Canes, we can go a couple of different directions. We can bite off a chunk, but we don’t chew, we let it just roll around in our mouths and dissolve. Others may peel the wrapper back enough to treat it like a sucker, allowing their lips and tongue to enjoy the flavor each time it passes by them. Now that is savoring!

But as believers in Christ, there is something which we much savor that far surpasses anything Candy Canes could ever provide.

Jesus replied to them, “I am the Bread of Life. The one who comes to Me will never be hungry, and the one who believes in Me [as Savior] will never be thirsty [for that one will be sustained spiritually]. John 6:35 _AMP

Do we savor Christ? In the verse noted, from the Apostle John’s Gospel, Jesus, proclaims, “I AM the Bread of Life…” and when we come to Him, we need never be hungry! To partake of Him and all He extends to us, those He loves, partaking is sheer pleasure. We relish in Him! We delight in Him! He is all we will ever need and so much more!

Just nibbling the Bread of Life greatly decreases the benefits He offers!

My one church observes the Sacrament of Holy Communion by intinction. Intinction is where the person partaking of Communion pulls off a piece of bread (symbolizing the body of Christ – the Bread of Life), in our case from a portion of a loaf, and then proceeds to dip it into a chalice (a cup) of grape juice (symbolizing the blood of Christ). I find it interesting how people pull off their portion of bread. Most of them are average “bite-size” pieces, but occasionally some will pull off, much to their embarrassment, a much larger piece than they had intended. And then some barely get a “pinch” of bread.

I often think, “This is supposed to represent Christ, why are we embarrassed? Truly, can we have too much of Christ? Why do we hold back, only taking the smallest amount of Christ we can? Shouldn’t we take a generous portion of our Savior who generously offers Himself?”

As you read this on the last day of the year, I would extend a challenge to savor Christ. Take as much of Him as You can get your hands on. Don’t hold back. There is no way that you can overdo it! What better way to transition into the new year!

Dec 31^st, 2020, Wed, 9:09 pm