February 2009

You may think that I am odd, but there is something special about opening a new jar of peanut butter. You peel off the protective seal and breath in all of that peanutty goodness. I hold my knife over the jar and pause; the jar is perfect, and I am presented with a dilemma. I do not want to ruin the perfection of the jar and yet I am hungry. I know what will happen; one or two peanut butter and honey sandwiches later, the jar will be a mess. Crumbs will have found their way into the jar, some of the peanut butter will have found its way to the outside of the jar. Now before you get too concerned for my mental health, I need to tell you that I do not pause for very long. The fact of the matter is that the only way to keep something perfect is not to use it at all. This is not only true with peanut butter. My son Peter received a first edition copy of a Tom Clancy novel. Do you read it and decrease its value or do you place it on a stand to never be opened when I collect coins, I know that every time I touch them, the oils on my hands damage them. As a result, I place them in plastic and put them in a book. They will never be used as intended, but they will remain pristine.

So we come to the New Year, resolutions in hand, dreams of what may be replacing the dreams of sugarplums that danced in our heads just a few days ago. The dreams are perfect, the year that lies before us is perfect, but we know that as soon as we begin to live it the perfection disappears and peanut butter ends up everywhere. The temptation is to do nothing; just continue living a minimal existence and not risk messing up the year. Wrap it up in plastic, place it on the shelf; don’t risk it.

But wait a second. The very reason the people at Peter Pan, or Jif (my favorite) puts the peanut butter in the jar is so that we can pull it out. Jars are filled so that they can be emptied even though it will be a messy process. That is why paper towels and sponges were invented so that messes can be cleaned and we can get on with out lives. When we choose to not take a risk fearing that we will fail or worse yet sin, we are playing right into the hands of the enemy. When we decide to not make resolutions because we probably will not keep them he laughs. “What if I mess up? What happens then?”

I learned from an early age that God’s forgiveness is precious and that we should not take lightly what that forgiveness cost. We need to commit ourselves to holy living so as not to cheapen the grace that is offered us so freely. To do otherwise is to make a mockery his sacrifice. Let me also suggest that if we are so afraid of sinning that we stop living we also make a mockery of his sacrifice. Living is messy business, we know that and God knows that as well. The gift of the cross is the opportunity to live and sin and be forgiven, learning all the while what we need to know to draw our hearts closer to God. Life is like a jar of peanut butter, messy but nourishing. God knows this and is willing to forgive if we are willing to dive in.