Frosted Flakes Theology

If you missed Moses guest appearance at the Sunday night “I Love to Tell the Story” summer series… well, you not only missed a reenactment of the parting of the Red “C” but some rich but slightly skewed theology and creative interpretation. Mo (apparently Moses nickname and obvious three stooge’s reference) recounted his three part life and apparent angst over leading the children of Israel out of Egyptian bondage. Rob McPherson (Moses alter ego) gave us some delightful insights to this larger than life biblical character. Always the fan of paronomasia (that’s fancy talk for play on words) I literally fell over laughing when Rob (I mean Mo) recounted the first time he encountered manna. God had graciously given the children of Israel the basic needs of life during the wilderness wanderings and the most basic need was food. So, in the morning they found this white frosting on the ground made up of flakes of the bread from heaven. Mo added but it wasn’t quite frosted flakes. Now, every time I read or hear about manna, I’ll think of Tony the tiger’s favorite breakfast food! Manna is Hebrew for, “What?” …that is, they didn’t have a clue about what it was at first –so maybe it was the original frosted flakes?

Now, if at this point you are shaking your head and thinking one should not be so frivolous and cavalier with God’s word… let me suggest that you’ve missed the point of frosting the flakes. The true bread that comes from heaven is Jesus (John 6:32-40) and just like manna, that is as sweet as it gets! Tony’s flakes are frosted to make them more desirable, palatable and inviting. It’s not sugar coating for deception, but rather it’s sweetening up to enhance the flavor and delight the palate. I’ve seen enough sour Christianity to last several lifetimes. Let the sweetness of a peace that passes all understanding put joy in your eyes and graciousness on your lips! When you feast on the true bread of heaven it produces a sweet disposition… so let’s challenge ourselves not to be just a bunch of flakes but manna style frosted flakes.

I hear the objection that one should not sacrifice the sacred on the altar of humor for the sake of a play on words. Let me suggest again that you’ve missed the point if you think this is just about getting a laugh. Frosted flakes theology is about first using God given creativity to see the bridge between our world and the world of the bible. And most importantly, it is about knowing that with that bridge I will find the joy of the Lord who sustains me in all His sweetness! May His sweetness be seen in me! -DAN