By Rick Ashlock

“Religion is meant to be bread for daily use, not cake for special occasions.” Author unknown.

When I was in fourth grade, our class took a field trip to a local bakery. My mother volunteered to be one of the chaperones. I was originally excited about having her along but we had not been at the bakery five minutes before I saw her chastising one of my best friends. Of course, I was mortified but I also thought he was getting off a lot easier than I usually did.

At the end of our tour, they gave each of us a slice of bread, fresh out of the oven and slathered with melted butter. Almost all of my classmates claimed that it was the most delicious thing they had ever eaten. However, I was unable to concur with their assessment.

I was blessed with a mother that would frequently bake homemade bread. While the slice given to me at the commercial bakery was indeed tasty, my mother’s bread was better cold and plain than this bread was hot and buttered. You can imagine, then, how much I liked to eat my mother’s bread when it was hot from the oven with butter or one of her homemade jams on it.

When I was growing up, it seemed everyone thought that their mother was the best cook in the world. These days it seems that most kids prefer McDonald’s to anything their mother cooks. While this may be due to fewer women acquiring culinary skill because they are busy as breadwinners instead of bread makers, I think it is ultimately due to the fact that most people, and I guess children qualify as people, prefer to eat what they most often have presented to them.

While they were wandering in the wilderness, the nation of Israel was fed with bread that God made fresh and new for them every day. He also dwelt among them and chastised them when they did things displeasing to Him. While the bread was delicious (Exodus 16:31 says it tasted like wafers with honey), the people grew tired of eating it and obeying the one who provided it. They had to learn the hard way, just like my friend, that the one who makes the bread makes the rules. Ultimately, both are made to give the recipients what they really need.

There will be a memorial service for Evelyn Miller in the building at 2:00 pm. Her daughter, Brenda Walter, has been attending here the last several weeks as she has been caring for her mother. Please keep Brenda and her family in your prayers.