Half-Baked

“The people of Israel mingle with godless foreigners, making themselves as worthless as a half-baked cake!"  Hosea 7:8

Have you ever eaten a half-baked cake?

The first cake I ever made as a girl was half-baked.  Opening the oven door, it was a beautiful thing to behold.  The top was a light golden brown color and it had puffed up nicely in the center.  I was just sure it would be perfect.  I allowed it to cool a bit and noticed the nice round puffiness had been replaced with a sunken middle.  Then, when turning it out of the pan and onto a serving plate, the cake completely fell apart into a mess of crumbs and batter.

Seeing my disaster and disappointment, my mother lovingly instructed me about cakes and cake baking.  She said you can't really tell if a cake is done just by looking at the outside.  You must insert a toothpick in the middle to test it.  If the toothpick comes out clean, with no batter on it, then the cake is done.  If there's batter, the cake needs to cook longer.  

I was grateful for the lesson.

The people of Israel in Hosea's day were like that half-baked cake—just a worthless mess.  It was because they were hanging around with godless foreigners that they became worthless.  They were much like many who call themselves Christians in America today but have allowed every aspect of the culture to corrupt their lives and morals.  My friend, God has called us a peculiar people for a reason.  We are to be set apart for His service (Leviticus 20:7), and His Word has a great deal to say about it.  These verses are but a small taste.

1 Corinthians 15:33 says, "Do not be deceived: 'Evil company corrupts good habits.'”

And James 1:27 tells us, "Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you."

Like that half-baked cake, sometimes it is hard to tell the real Christians from the fake ones.  We have a tendency to look at a person's exterior, that which is easily visible, rather than their heart.  Until they're tested with the toothpick of trial and adversity, they often look the same.  Jesus talked about this in the Parable of the Wheat and the Tares (Matthew 13).  Once someone's fake character is proven, however, Jesus tells us throughout Scripture to stay away from them (2 Corinthians 6:17; Psalms 101; 2 Corinthians 6:14, and others).

Have you had the toothpick test?

Goodnight, Runners.