Let’s Be the Chocolate Chip!

After returning home from Epiphany Ranch on my birthday, I quickly unpacked and we hurried to our church’s Wednesday-night family meal.

For only ten dollars, we enjoyed chicken-fried steak, cream gravy, mashed potatoes, corn, a roll, salad, AND dessert. Wowzer!

Apparently, our church believes in feeding both body and soul -- and making sure nobody leaves hungry!

Afterward, I joined about fifty to sixty women for our first Bible study of the new school year.

Then came my birthday surprise.

Carl carried in a huge box of homemade chocolate-chip cookies to share with my Bible-study sisters. Knowing I’m on a sugar-free fast, he made sure some were sugar-free. He also brought beautiful pink, full-sugar cookies for those whose fasting convictions were -- less restrictive!

I must tell you -- those were the best no-sugar chocolate-chip cookies I've ever eaten. AND, the extra joy -- was for our dear friend who has started her own cookie business -- to make the no-sugar cookies for the first time! They were a hit!

Chocolate-chip cookies hold a special place in my heart. I’ve tasted plenty in my lifetime, so I consider myself somewhat qualified in this field of research!

Think about the ingredients. Flour, butter, sugar, salt, and baking soda are mixed until they blend together. Once baked, we can’t distinguish one from another.

But the chocolate chips? We can still see them!

The book "Be the Chocolate Chip" by Jan Brewer and Amy Stucky uses that tasty illustration to remind Christians that we can live in this world without disappearing into it.

Like a chocolate chip, we should retain the distinctive nature God has given us and make what surrounds us better.

Romans 12:2 says, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”

Being different doesn’t mean acting superior, strange, or holier-than-thou. It means being recognized by our kindness, integrity, joy, forgiveness, warmth, and love.

When culture becomes bitter, we bring sweetness. When conversations become cold, we bring warmth. When darkness gathers, we carry Christ’s light.

We don’t need to melt into the crowd or imitate every other “cookie” on the shelf.

Let’s be unmistakably His -- drawing others not merely to ourselves, but to the goodness of Jesus within us.

Be genuine. Be loving. Be light. Be the chocolate chip!

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