The Gospel and Dessert

A few weeks ago, at Community Group, we were having a deep theological discussion… about the best desserts.

We talked about how some people go all out trying to make fancy things like crème brûlée, eclairs, tiramisu, or poached pears Belle Hélène (I don’t actually know what that is. It just sounded impressive when I found it on Google). We agreed we’d probably give these gourmet desserts a try, but they’re almost always disappointing. Still, we decided that fancy dessert-makers aren’t the real villains. They're just a misguided.

The true criminals are the ones who take a perfectly good dessert and change some core ingredient or add a “secret twist.” You know the type: chocolate chip cookies with jalapeños. Birthday cake made from potatoes (I had a childhood friend whose mom swore by this). Brownies where the chocolate is swapped for Sicilian pistachios. These kinds of concoctions are the works of mad people.

That night, we unanimously agreed: the best dessert is a big, moist chocolate brownie with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. That’s it. You don’t need to substitute anything. You don’t need to get too fancy with the spices. Sure, it’s “basic,” but it’s basic because it works. It’s been tested, tried, and loved. It doesn’t need cayenne pepper, blueberries, Madagascar vanilla, or gold leaf. Just give me a brownie and ice cream. Add anything else, and it’s no longer a brownie but something else entirely.

This week, we’re kicking off a six-week series through the book of Galatians. Paul’s main point in Galatians is this: the gospel of Christ doesn’t need anything added to it. It’s like brownies and ice cream: perfect just the way it is. Paul says that when we add anything to the gospel it stops being the gospel. We are to leave it alone and let it transform us.

Galatians is a powerful book on the gospel. It has supercharged Christians like Martin Luther (who went on to start a reformation) and Charles Wesley (Who was an integral part of the first great awakening). I pray you’ll join us tomorrow and let it supercharge you, too.