Jesus, the Good Baker

Our Bible Study read for the third time in three years Raymond Carver's short story entitled, "A Small Good Thing." Basically, the story centers on a couple, Ann and Howard, whose son is tragically hit by a car, falls into a coma, and soon dies. Before the accident, Ann had ordered a birthday cake for her son's party, which of course she fails to pick up on time because of her son's hospitalization. The baker becomes enraged at the family because of the loss of money and time for him as a small business owner. He makes a series of harassing calls to the family. After the boy's death, however, Ann and Howard realize who has been making these calls and go to see the baker at his business. Upon learning of their tragedy, the baker asks their forgiveness and serves them limitless amounts of bread. While most contemporary stories can be read at the surface level, this one demands to be considered carefully at a spiritual level as well.

Jesus has stated many times in the Bible that he is the Bread of life. One of the verses is John 6, verse 35, "I am the Bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger." In today's wobbling economy, some in the media have been advising us to begin storing food for the upcoming global depression. The Bible, however, tells us most poignantly in the Model Prayer that we are to depend upon God for "our daily bread." Like the Carver story above, "daily bread," I believe, is a literal reference but also a spiritual reference. It seems that we are being taken back to pre-Y2K levels of thinking, where the same advice was given. On the one hand, we want to be prudent planners for the future, yet at the same time we want to take God at His word--He will provide for us in times of crisis.

Do we believe that Jesus is indeed the "good Baker"? If we do, we will relax and depend upon Him for all our needs.