I once baked a lovely, decadent chocolate cake. Maybe you’ve eaten something like it before. When the hot cake comes out of the oven, you poke holes across the top, and spread the frosting all around. The frosting not only melts, but it also seeps into each of the poked holes, creating a rich, gooey, chocolaty taste of heaven.
Every little air pocket, every little poked hole, is filled with frosting. Every single bite contains not only chocolate frosting on the top of the piece, but spread throughout; so much so, you can’t distinguish between where the cake stops and frosting starts.
So too is it with grace. God’s grace.
Our lives are crumbly and dry, poked full of holes. Holes of our own making – mistakes, poor decision making, errant ways, brokenness, habits, addictions – holes from other people – hurts, abuse, neglect, abandonment – and holes resulting from our fallen world – disease, heartache, strife, death.
But when we find ourselves in the heat, in the middle of our greatest challenges, in the midst of our deepest despair, God spreads His grace upon us. And it doesn’t just puddle on top of our lives, somehow masking and hiding our problems. It seeps down into the holes, spreading its goodness and filling our brokenness.
And eventually we realize we cannot differentiate between where our hole-poked lives end and His grace begins. And while His grace doesn’t necessarily prevent future holes from being poked in our lives, each poke allows even more grace to cover us, surround us, and infuse us. What was once a plain, uninteresting existence filled with holes of shame and sin, has become a rich, grace-filled life filled with goodness.
Maybe tonight you too can bake up a lovely, decadent chocolate cake. As you poke holes in the hot cake, consider the holes in your own life. As the chocolate frosting seeps into each of the cake’s little holes, allow God’s grace to do the same in your own. As your family, roommates, or friends enjoy a rich, chocolaty taste of heaven, perhaps you too can share the deeper significance of this cake and His grace.
Easy Chocolate Fudge Cake (from allrecipes.com)
Ingredients
1 (18.25 ounce) package chocolate cake mix
1/4 cup butter
2 cups white sugar
6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
Directions
Bake a box chocolate cake as directed. While hot from the oven, poke holes over entire cake with a fork. While the cake is cooking prepare the fudge sauce.
For the fudge sauce: In a saucepan, combine butter, sugar, cocoa and cream. Stir over medium heat until a full boil starts. Cook at a full boil for 2 minutes. Stir in vanilla. Pour while hot over warm cake. Sprinkle with chopped walnuts. Serve alone or with ice-cream.
