Victoria Advocate, A Different Perspective

Last night, I went to sleep with the sweet scent of homemade bread in the air. This morning, I woke up to the same. There’s nothing quite like the aroma of made-from-scratch sourdough bread as it bakes in the oven. If we could bottle that smell, it would be worth millions, because it communicates so much more than fresh bread. It’s home, comfort, the feeling that all is well.

Meanwhile, wildfires continue to devastate California. My heart aches for the displaced, the decimation, and the dire effects this will have on the insurance industry.  

Turmoil in the present government, the ever-increasing pace of how things are done, and the ongoing crisis in the Middle East hurtle us into a future that seems bleak. A new presidency sparks hope for many, but it’s certainly not a cure-all. What ails man and society is far deeper than what one man or a new government can fix.

The underlying problem is the heart of man. Trouble is, most people believe a lie—that everyone is basically good. As if we will always default to doing the right thing, if only given the chance. Yet nothing could be further from the truth. Scripture states, “The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; …” (Jeremiah 17:9A, NAS)   

My husband let a batch of bread rise in the laundry room. Though the dryer had the flattest surface, rather than displace all the junk that collects on it, he put the glass bowl on the washing machine. Only the washer has a slight slant. The dough was rising nicely when we heard a tinkling crash. Yep, the bread bowl shattered on the floor. One positive was the shower cap he used to cover the bowl caught most of it.  

It was the complete end of a perfectly good batch of dough and his favorite bowl. Some messes are impossible to redeem.

But the greater truth, and the best news ever, is that man’s heart can be redeemed. And if God can give us a new heart, there’s hope for our society. If we depend on God to fill us with his goodness, we’ll thrive. As individuals. As a nation. Actually, it’s been done before. Our Founding Fathers weren’t perfect men, but their dependence on God allowed them to create the Constitution. Time has proven the document echoes the freedoms God meant for every person and for a prosperous republic.  

But back to the bread … The mess was disheartening, but Dave cleaned it up and began anew. Hence the lovely smell from the loaves baked last night and this morning. However, having baked bread several times, he wasn’t happy with the bread’s dense crumbly texture. He decided the starter was the issue because it didn’t smell quite right. Not as in bad or spoiled; the distinct odor of sourdough just wasn’t strong enough. We’ll eat the bread, of course, but he deemed it inferior and admonished me not to give it away as a treat.  

The bread wasn’t perfect, but we have a God who is. He’s not limited by our weaknesses or our strengths. We get focused on physical needs, so He told us “man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord.” (Deuteronomy 8:3, NAS)

Jesus made it even plainer. When the disciples asked Him about manna, the bread from heaven that helped them survive the wilderness, He said, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst.” (John 6:35)

He’s the sweetest fragrance of all.