A WORD FOR TODAY, July 15, 2013 “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service. And be not fashioned according to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, and ye may prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” Romans 12:1-2, ASV The big news for today is that the Twinkie has returned to store shelves. Hostess went out of business several months ago, which left the shelves bare. There were no more Twinkies or Ho Hos, which made a lot of people very sad. It even seemed as though the world were coming to an end, and I think a lot of people who never even bought Twinkies were upset. Another company was able to take over the factories and restore production of the sweet treats, so now people can once again buy them. The anchors on the early morning news I watch made a big deal this morning about having a box of Twinkies and they played on the expectation until the right moment when they could open it and eat one. I’m not really sure what was so important about that moment; it is like eating a Twinkie is a miraculous thing and that heaven has come to earth because Twinkies are available again. To be honest, I didn’t even miss the Twinkie. I like Ho Hos, so I might buy some when I see them in the store, but I never really liked Twinkies. As a matter of fact, when Hostess products disappeared from the shelves, the shopkeepers were able to replace that product with Tastykakes, which I do like. I’m not sure what will happen now that the stores carry both companies, but I suspect that the shelf space for my favorites will go down because they have to make room for the return of this most product that seems so popular that even has news anchors focused on it. I didn’t really like Twinkies. They were too sweet, with a flavor that didn’t taste real to me. I laughed because it didn’t take very long for Tastykake to create a similar product. I liked that one a little bit, but not much. Despite my dislike of the old Twinkies and even the recreation by another company, I have to admit that I can’t help but wonder if I should buy some the next time I go to the store. Reports have said that the new Twinkies are a little different. Should I buy them to find out if they are better? I know the answer is “No,” but it is hard to resist the temptation. After all, the whole world is celebrating the miraculous return of this heavenly treat! We live in a world where we are bombarded by information, often the same information over and over again. It doesn’t take very long before that information becomes part of our whole being. A lie becomes truth if you hear it enough times. How many people are considered heroes not because they’ve actually done something heroic, but because enough people have said that they are? It is far easier to conform to the world than to be transformed by the faith that gives us true life, especially in a world where there is persecution for not conforming. God has not saved us so that we’ll fall for the temptations of the world. He has saved us and continues to transform us daily to be like Christ. We don’t need to believe everything we hear, even if we hear it a thousand times. We need to believe in God and His Word. There might not be anything wrong with buying a box of Twinkies the next time I go to the grocery store, but I do not have to buy one just because the rest of the world is doing so. God calls us to something better, something extraordinary, something perfect.
Posted on: Mon, 15 Jul 2013 15:39:11 +0000