A tale of 2 cakes

A few weeks ago I had the chance to go to a birthday party for a friends child. We had a very good time socializing and enjoying a nice lunch by the lake. About an hour after lunch my daughter Iris came up to me and said "daddy I want some cake". I looked over at the cake and it was sitting on the table untouched. I said "you have to wait until they cut it". The host did give each person who wanted it a cupcake and that was fine with me. About an hour later it was time to go and Iris still wanted a piece of cake. It was still uncut. I noticed a few finger streaks through it as Iris and Lily managed to get a finger into the frosting. We left and I said to my wife Hazel "I wonder what the deal was with the cake?". We decided they might be saving it for a second party and just went home happy.
A few days later it was my birthday and Hazel went down to Costco and bought one of their very delicious birthday cakes. She kind of surprised me (yeah right) by having it waiting for me as I entered a church Bible study that evening. After the Bible study the group sang "happy birthday" and we sliced the cake for the 25 or so people who wanted it. The next day I received many emails from people who said they enjoyed the cake and how they brought pieces home for their kids. It just gave me great pleasure knowing so many people enjoyed the cake.

The next week I ran into the host of the party and said "thanks for the nice lunch" She looked at me and said "your welcome". I found out later that she told Hazel how sad it was that they ended up feeding the cake to their cats and throwing out the leftover cupcakes. It was just kind of a depressing thought.

It made me realise just how special it is to share the good things in life. Our faith without works is dead. By not sharing the news of Jesus Christ and what he can do for us is kind of like having a nice cake and just letting it spoil in the fridge. The pleasure we will receive by sharing salvation with others will make the salvation we receive all that much greater. You can have your cake and eat it, but it is much sweeter to share it!