The Parable of the Cake

The parable of the Cake!

Recently I had an encounter that shook me to my bones. It was one of those experiences that shows that God is still in charge of the universe and the life of each child of God is before God daily as he works to bring to fulfillment his perfect plan.

Ok here what happened. It was 21st June, it happen to be by wife's birthday and our anniversary. Before this day my uncles wife decided to bake a cake for me to give to my wife;its was meant to be a gift,by the way my uncles wife was not in same city as me,she was working in another city but her family was in my city, they had a maid who could bake so my uncles wife asked her to bake a cake for me. I told her pink or yellow would be nice but she had to use her discretion ultimately. This was the 20th of June,precisely a day to my wife's birthday. So on the 21st we work up early and decided to do together the few things we had to do around the city of Lagos. It happen to be a friday so traffic was at its peak. The plan was to go pick up the cake once we were done with official business of the day. Before we were done, I called my uncle as we agreed I'll call him as soon as I was close to his apartment. Anyway to cut the story short, I went through traffic for almost 2hours only to get to his house and realize my uncle was not home. The next thing to do was to call him. I called by his phone was switched off. I called again and again. I sent a text message to inform him I was waiting outside his apartment, in between this long wait, I tried calling his wife in the other city on her mobile phone, it rang but she didn't pick the call. I called her for about 10times. I switched to sending short messages on her blackberry device but no response. After about 2 hours waiting in the car on one spot(its was raining too),I finally decided to leave, I sent another text message to my uncle saying I had to get back to victoria island which is another end of the city of Lagos. Through all this event, my wife was in the car with me, she was very patient, I remember her asking me what are we going to do? I said leave; we just had to leave.

We had such a long drive back to victoria island, it took almost 2hours again to get back to victoria island due to traffic on the way. After 2hours of driving which was 4hours away from the first time we sent the text message saying we were at my uncles house,the messages were received, simultaneously the maid called me to apologize for all I went through. She said she had to go out briefly,she assumed my uncle or his wife would call her to let her know I was around so she could ask me to get the house key from where she hid it then carry the cake. My uncle called almost immediately to apologize and said his battery went down so his phone shut down,he thought the maid would be home so he had to rush somewhere. He did not bother calling me because he assumed the maid was home to give me my cake. My uncles wife sent me apologies and she said she forgot her phone at home, she only realised that when she got to work that working;she just got home to see my calls and messages. 

It so happened that when we were waiting at my uncles house, I told my wife that something was not right, I told her there's something God is saying which we must be patient to discover regarding this cake. Anyway it happened that my uncle assumed the help would be home while the help assumed my uncle or his wife would call her to inform her I was waiting yet it happened that my uncles wife went to work that day forgetting her mobile phone at home so she could not pick my call.

While all the apologies were pouring in,the maid sent someone to bring the cake to me,I got the cake and it turned out to be a small cake. I was grateful and that was it or so I would thing. While the uncertainty of the cake lasted, my mother inlaw called and asked if she could order a cake since it we were coming over to her house later that day,I hesitates but my wife said yes, so she sent someone to go get a cake off her street. We initially thought if our originally ordered  cake is lost in a web of assumptions, we can then use my mother inlaws cake.  The young man that went to get the cake for my mother inlaw got there and there was one cake left, it had been ordered by another customer who was not forthcoming on pickup so the lady decided to make an exception by giving the cake to the youngman based on his standing goodwill with the cake store. Now my mother inlaw had her cake.

Later that day, we drove to see my wifes parents, on getting in my wife asked if we could bring in out initial cake but I said no, reason been that it was small,more so my mother inlaw had orderdd another cake so why showoff our small weary looking cake. True to my imagination, we saw my mother inlaws cake, it was awesome and big. I bless the lord I did not bring my cake from the car. The evening went well, we all had fun,had cake and went home.

Ordinarily you'll expect the cake story was over; just as we were getting into bed, my wife and I took stock of our day, the holy spirit came knocking. The day was not over, God begain to show us the real meaning of all that happened earlier in the day.

The first small cake had 3 colours,yellow,green and pink, it had written on it HBD Ada.

The second cake had 3 colours, yellow,green and pink. It would surffice to note that the two bakers never met and never knew each other. We did not tell my mother inlaw anything about cake colour. The big cake had written on it HAPPY BIRTHDAY ADA. Unlike the small cake, the big cake had no abbreviations. It was clearly and neatly written and professionally done whereas tthe small cake was shabbily down by my uncles house maid learning how to bake.

And God said,both cakes are related. The first cake signifies man planning to meet his needs, using his personal understanding of what is importamt and how. God pointed out that the first cake shows mans ideas,dreams and mans way of doing things. We work so hard or so it seems,we try so hard, we plan and try, yet we are stock in traffic most part of out lives,we wait for mirracles,we scheme and plan yet all but nothing is produced, God pointed out that the returns we get on so much manly effort and wisdom is so small that we can't but hide our results.

The second cake is Gods plan for man,its often not executed my mans scheming and planning, it rides on the assurance and integrity of Gods identity. Gods plan for your life is draw up and executed by God all on his time. We play very little role  in helping design Gods plan for our lives,in fact all God expects of us is to showup and embrace his plan for each of us. Gods plan for you had no short cuts,no abbreviations. When its revealed, you don't have a hard time reading the content of Gods plan for your life, like I said before, yours is just to showup and embrace the plan.

Many of us were used to struggling to make things happen prior to metting Jesus hence we believe the basic foundation of all thing godly must be tinted with struggles and scheming. We lie to fast track progress,we cheat just so me can get there quickly. In an attempt to be one of those with results to showoff, we embelish everything even if it means coating it with a few bible scriptures. Some of us even import out sinful ways and traditions into the body of christ just to prove God can do all things and by all things we mean using our old evil ways to bless his church. Friends God says there's no need for that. Stop manufacturing a plan and branding it Gods plan for your life. Gods plan for your life would never be abbreviated, it has no short cuts, its clear and requires training which God is often willing and well equip to deliver. God never sends anyone on an assignement without making adequate provisions for the needs that come with the assigement. Read theough the pages of the bible, every ventrue God plans,he provides for it. There is a peace the comes with Gods plan when embraced. The bible says God is not an author of confusion,niether is strive one of the attributes of a God driven plan in your life. 

The interpretation of the parable of the cake is amazing, it core message is that what I(God) have planned up for you is bigger and better that all you kill,cheat and manipulate to become all in the name of hard work.

God is asking each of us to either let him execute his own plan or keep chasing the shadow of greatness. Like I have always said, God is the only constant in all success equations. Whether or not we'll let him pilot the affairs of our lives is another question entirely. There is certainly one end to anyone who resolve to self help in this life and in that which is to come, the bible captured this end when it said "He who had the son has life but he who rejects the son is already condemned".  The offer to lead you in on the table, God is offering a bigger and better cake, all he's asking is that we embrace his offer. Trying to understand they dynamics of salvation with the human mind is tantamount to driving long hours through trafffics from one end of the city to another,waiting in vain just to collect a small pitiful cake. You can be sure that after all your effort, you'll not get the desired cake niether would you be able to use your human mind to understand the things of God hence its written that we are saved by grace through faith.

There's an opportunity to begin a new journey with Jesus today. For those who are saved already,it may just be that you need God to take the wheels of certain projects in your life due to the fact that your effort don't seem to  produce any meaningful result. Kindly say this prayer. Lord Jesus,I acknowledge that I am a sinner,I acknowledge I cannot save myself;I believe Jesus is the son of God,he came in the flesh,shed his blood on the cross and died,his blood washed away my sins,on the third day God rose him up again and he's alive forever more. I accept Jesus as lord of my life.I ask that you unveil your plan for my life in Jesus name. (Amen)

Igonoh Godwin.O
22June2013. 230am.