Let Them Eat Pudding

You've probably heard the phrase, "The proof is in the pudding." The phrase originally was "The proof of the pudding is in the eating," but it's not much different. The idea is that you can figure out if something is good or bad or even factual (whatever needs "proof") by looking at the end result. Kind of like Jesus's intent when He said, "You will recognize them by their fruits" (Matt 7:16) or "Wisdom is justified by all her children" (Luke 7:35) or "The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks." (Luke 6:45) All the same idea. You can figure out that false prophets are false prophets by looking at what they produce. You can tell wisdom by what it produces. You can get a glimpse into the heart by observing what comes out of the mouth. The proof is in the pudding. I wonder sometimes what's in our pudding. If we were to eat it, what would we find? I think we would be embarrased to find what our "tasty pudding" really tastes like sometimes.

We declare that we are saved by grace through faith apart from works (Eph 2:8-9). Does that reflect in our actions and attitudes? Are we worried about our salvation, worried about our works, worried about being worthy? We affirm that God is Sovereign (1 Tim 6:15). Can we find evidence of that in our daily lives? Do trials overwhelm us? Are we confident that God is in charge or questioning it? Are we angry when things don't go as we thought they should? We rejoice that God works all things work together for good for them that love God (Rom 8:28), but do we? Or do we respond differently when it doesn't seem so good? "We are more than conquerors," (Rom 8:37) we proudly declare, but do we actually act that way or are we dejected and defeated?

The Scriptures are full of these kinds of truth claims and we are supposed to be people of God's Word. Sometimes we're not aware of some of these claims. That's probably not good, but we can be diligent to remedy that, can't we? More often we are aware of the claims and even repeat them. It sounds good, but the proof is in the pudding. If we declare "Jesus is Lord," (Rom 10:9; 1 Cor 12:3) do we live that declaration? Or do we assume lordship? We always act on what we truly believe. Do our attitudes and actions reflect what we say we believe? It might be a good idea to look and see.