Divine Hot Chocolate

This is how I think A Mug of Hot Chocolate is similar to our Relationship with God.

First, I need you to make your imagination mold-able. Please, go and soak your head in a warm tub of water for a few weeks so that it will get soft, and then read on.

You, are in perfect snowy winter wonderland.  I'm thinking like upstate New York, or Montana.
Imagine a perfect beautiful sunny winter day after a snow storm the week before. And you are a kid, and its Christmas vacation!  What do you do?  Well, if you are like me, you will go outside and play in the bountiful snow all day long!

You know, how kids have a way at being constructive and creative.  Letting the time fly past.... until it hits 3 or 4 in the afternoon.  By this time, your younger brothers and sisters have "packed up" and gone home.  Maybe you have a older brother that you are still climbing up the sled jump hill with.  But really, its gettin' seriously cold.  The temperature is the same, but man, after a whole afternoon of digging and packing snow to form a sled jump, you probably have lost your feeling in your hand about an hour ago.

Then you hear the sweetest sound from the house of your mother, "Paul~~  Kevin~~ (i don't know who that is...  I guess its my imaginary brother)" and you both make a 90 degree sharp head turn toward the house, realizing that this can't be but one thing.... It suddenly dawns on you that you have been smelling the sweet aroma of chocolate for the last few minutes.

Just thinking about the implications of the scent and the mother's call gives you a sugar high. Mother has prepared a mug of steaming hot chocolate with cookies to lavish you with her love.  Baking/cooking really is such a tangible sign of a mother's love towards her kids... 

After the running and brushing and the pulling off of a pile of wet (and probably stinky) snow wear, you finally make it to the kitchen table and take a perch on a stool wearing nothing but your long-johns.
 
You see, there is a big difference between outside and inside. Outside, you are unprotected and cold.  It's harsh.  Taking a mere step or two in the waist high snow is no easy work.  Inside, you are sheltered, warm, and comfortable. There is no need to wear anything more than the wet long-johns for "decency." Although, lets face it. Wet long-johns? Well... lets just say that the sweaty crack is showing right though.

This magical space is what we call home. Its a place where frostbite is forbidden to enter. The warmth that seems to envelope this delicious mug of hot chocolate is infused with the hint of cinnamon, and another magical ingredient: Love. What do you do!?  I can just hear somebody in the back of the room shouting "Common, get on with it and drink!".   EXACTLY.  That's what I would think too.   Why don't we just ignore the "take in the moment" thing and enjoy that mug of delicious sweetness? 

I don't know about you, but I usually get my fingers around that mug and transfer some of that warmth to my bloodless fingers.  I might even put the mug to my red cold cheek. Am I enjoying the hot chocolate so far?  What if, after sufficiently warming my fingers and my cheeks, I left my perch and went to the living room without tasting it? That mug left on the Kitchen table, now slightly less warm. Would you agree with me that it's impossible to enjoy the hot chocolate until you take a sip and let the thick, milky, sweet, warmth enter your body? As it passes through your tongue, it will exclaim its loveliness to your brain.  And your cold body will feel a burning sensation down its core as it gains back its warmth.  Hot Chocolate does this like no other drink can.

Its the same with God.  He has prepared a safe, warm house where we can be secure. There are no obligations and no dress codes. And at the most perfect of timings, He meets us at the kitchen table in a delicious steaming cup of life giving, energy-full, nourishment.  It waits on the table for us to pick it up and enjoy.

Now, is it even possible to enjoy a cup of hot chocolate without settling down? There is a reason why hot chocolate is never served at the road-side re-hydration stations on a 10k marathon. They serve things like water that can be drunk quickly. Hot chocolate is not the same kind of drink as water. It demands a certain amount of time and patience for it to be enjoyed fully.  First, you warm your fingers and cheeks (we did that already).  Then you carefully take a sip, carefully monitoring the amount that goes into your mouth, so that it wont burn your mouth. You continue to warm yourself up to it until you are able to take larger and larger sips as the temperature becomes more tolerable for ingestion.

Its the same with our personal time with God.  If we try to take it in too quickly, it will not be enjoyable. You might not even get around to drinking the hot chocolate if you aren't patient! It could even appear to you as a inconvenience that you can't take this cup with you on your marathon.  In the same way you can't easily fit this wonderful experience in between everyday business. Hot chocolate by its nature demands us to cancel all other appointments, and care about nothing else. Then, we finally have enough space in our hearts to let His nourishment penetrate the deepest core of our being.  At that moment, I can tell you that the phrase "Jesus Loves you" becomes so much more than a silly song. It will become the center of your life, and you will begin to wonder why you waited so long before you sat down at that kitchen table.

Open your mouth and taste, open your eyes and see how good God is. Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in him! -Psalm 38

Give all your worries and cares to Him, he really does care about you.  -1 Pete 5:7