Sunday, March 31, 2013
Parable of the Chocolate Kiss
PARABLE OF THE CHOCOLATE KISS
By
PHOENIX MARYGRACE HOCKING
Once there were a man and a woman who fell in love and got married. They loved each other very much and spent most of their time together. Even when they were working they would call each other on the phone and when they were at home they could hardly stop looking at each other long enough to get anything else done!
Every morning the bride would awaken to the aroma of freshly brewed coffee, and when she came to the table she would find one single chocolate kiss beside her coffee cup, and a love letter from her beloved.
And they talked! Oh, how they talked! They shared all of their joys and all of their sorrows. They laughed over the silly things they saw on their walks together, and discussed the things they read. Every morning and every evening found them deep in conversation and their lives were full of love.
They both went out of their way to find ways to show the other that they were loved. Every day the bridegroom left a chocolate kiss and a love letter beside the bride’s coffee cup, and throughout the day he sent her flowers, or music she particularly enjoyed, or some other token of affection. She felt very loved, and for her part she made every effort to spend quality time with her husband. She savored the chocolate kiss, and read every single line of the love letter.
But, a sad thing happened. As time went on, the bride became busy with the everyday business of life. The cares and worries of her job started to occupy her thoughts and she didn’t make as much time to be with her husband the way she used to. One morning, she barely had time to gulp down the cup of coffee he had prepared for her. She didn’t notice the chocolate kiss at all, and thought to herself, “Oh, the letter can wait. I’ll read it tomorrow.”
And after a while the conversations dwindled down to the point where they just didn’t happen any more. Sometimes the bride would rush out of the house and never even say Good Morning to her husband, and sometimes when she came home she would eat a quick supper and not even say a word to him, who sat across the table from her, just waiting for her to acknowledge him. It seemed, and I almost hate to say it, but it seemed as though she had forgotten he even existed.
In the bride’s life, busy and stressed and full of things that didn’t matter, she found that the joy was gone, and her life was empty and dull and void. It was just life, but the relationship that made life worth living had been forgotten. And the chocolate kisses remained on the table, unseen and unappreciated.
Then one day, while she was on her break at work, a friend came by and dropped a chocolate kiss beside her coffee cup, and she remembered. She remembered her husband, and her heart sank at the way she had neglected him. She told her boss she wasn’t feeling well and she had to leave, then got in her car and rushed home.
Now, if this were a normal tale, a cautionary tale, I would say that she came home to an empty house. I would say that the bridegroom got tired of waiting to be noticed and just left.
But it isn’t. This is a tale of love, unconventional, unconditional, supernatural love.
The bride rushed into the house, so afraid that her husband would be gone. But instead she found him sitting at the table, and on the table were a freshly brewed cup of coffee, a single chocolate kiss, and a love letter.
“I’m sorry!” she cried. “I’m so sorry!”
The bridegroom held her close while she cried, and wiped away her tears. “I never left,” he said. “Don’t you know that I will never leave you nor forsake you? I have called you by name, and you are mine. Nothing in this earth will ever be able to separate you from my love.”
The bridegroom, of course, represents Jesus Christ. And I confess that sometimes I have been like that foolish bride. I have let the cares and worries and busyness of everyday life get in the way of my relationship with Him. And I have gone days without thinking of Him even once, and weeks without picking up His love letter to me.
But Christ is faithful, even when I am not. And for that, I am profoundly grateful.
And yet, perhaps there is a note of caution in my tale after all. For when we forget the Life that makes life worth living, our lives become empty, and instead of the kisses of God, we are left holding an empty silver wrapper, wondering where the joy went.
So, when Christ sends you kisses, receive them with thanksgiving, savor them and enjoy them, and remember that there are always more where they came from. He has an inexhaustible supply. And don’t forget His love letter, in which He promises “I will never leave you, nor forsake you.” Rest in the joy of His love because, unlike ours, His love never changes.
# posted by Phoenix MaryGrace Hocking : 12:43 PM
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