Life is a process ... like making ice cream

When our kids were little and we were living in a jungle tribe in New Guinea, we used to get together with our neighbors at the airstrip and make ice cream for special occasions, like Independence Day or New Year’s Eve. The reason we didn’t do it often is that it wasn’t an easy process, living in the middle of the Sepik rainforest. For one simple reason, it required so much ice. Everyone saved up as many bread pans of solid blocks as they could for days ahead of time. And that wasn’t easy. Though fresh water literally rained down in tank loads each night, the freezer space was a semi-precious commodity. In my little kero fridge for example, the freezer section was only about 7” deep and depending on how many times it was opened, its freezing capacity was extremely limited in that equatorial climate.

Once we had the ice saved up, we’d get together with a batch of New Zealand or Aussie milk powder and flavorings and a couple bags of salt. We’d have to start with breaking up the ice with hammers to fill the outer bucket of our old fashioned hand-crank ice cream maker. In the center of that wooden bucket we’d place a smaller tin bearing the ice cream recipe. If we were extra lucky we might even have some chocolate chips in there. And into the middle of that inner tub would go a churning blade, connected to a central turning gear mechanism. Then we’d pour the salt over the ice chunks, wrap the whole thing in old towels, and start cranking by hand.

The guys would take turns of about fifteen minutes each, and it would take about 45 minutes to finish the batch. All the while, you had to keep adding ice, liberally sprinkling in the salt, and keep the batch churning steadily. It got pretty messy in the process, too. The run off melt water from the outer bucket had to be captured in a tub. The guys who did the cranking were also running with sweat in that heat. “Sweating like a stuck pig, to be sure,” but laughing through it all. And the ice chopping itself, usually done on old rice bags, always created a huge mess of puddles of melting ice chips all over the floor. The kids would run around barefoot in the midst of it, while we women washed dishes and made coffee. The banter and anticipation would mount.

Of course, your final batch will only be as good as what you put into it. But no matter how good the ingredients in the tin may be--fine sugar or not so fine, creamy vanilla or if we were lucky, fresh chocolate chips--if the batch didn’t keep moving, if the outer salt didn’t melt the ice, you wouldn’t freeze any ice cream. The way I understand it, it’s the crucial melting process of the outer wooden tub that draws the heat out of the center mix, allowing it to freeze. That’s what freezing is, removing the heat from something, right? You need melting to create freezing. It takes motion to create immobility. Life is funny, isn’t it?

If you never made home-made ice cream as a kid, you’re probably thinking all this sounds like a terrible waste of time and the entertainment of fools. It sure doesn’t sound like it’s worth the effort, does it? But in those days, and living under that hot tropical sun, there was nothing like it. When we finally heard the cheerful words ringing from the kitchen, “It’s done! Come and get it!”, you never saw a bunch of kids run so fast and squeal so much and then we’d scoop out such generous portions, their eyes would be bugging out. “You have to eat it fast, don’t dawdle around, or it’ll melt before you can say Jack diddly squat!” But that was one set of instructions you never had to say twice.

What great memories. Beats the heck out of a box of frozen ice cream from the grocery store—even if you do splurge and get the good stuff. There was something about all that teamwork and effort that made it taste sweeter than anything else in this world.

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I’m sure you can also see the parallels between this process and the way the Lord works in us. There is a huge emphasis on the planning, readiness, and a prerequisite of storing up the treasured ingredients. In the same way, faith comes by hearing the Word, storing it up in our hearts in preparation for what He can do in our lives.

But dating much further back, there has also been a huge preparation by the Lord himself, going back to the creation of the world, the precious cross of Calvary, and all the details of our own existence. Besides our genetic make-up and the infinite ways we were woven together in the womb, we have a whole lineage of ancestry, combined with the unique setting we were born into--a nation, a town and household, and an exact point in history that each one of us became uniquely set upon this earth. The Lord our God has a plan, and he has set all the ingredients in place for what he wants to create. And there’s no doubt that as this whole world turns, even the winds and oceans in constant motion, the Lord God of the Universe is creating something unique. He is producing great treasure, he is purifying and sanctifying a kingdom of people unto Himself.

So, the work begins--with hammers! Think about that a minute. Ice cream. How can something so soft and sweet start with something so hard? It always starts with hammering because you have to have crushed ice. God often begins the process of creation in our lives with a breaking down of our walls, smashing our human efforts, and crushing our ideologies. It may be bad habits and behaviors that have to be broken. Habits of speech, thought, or lifestyle have to be broken before he can begin to transform us, recreating his life in us. Ice isn’t usable if it remains in the original mold. It has to be turned out on the floor and threshed out on the rice bags into usable and smaller pieces. It is meant to be melted and poured out. This is powerful, isn’t it? We aren’t meant to keep and save our lives, but to be turned out of our molds, released from all the things that bind us, poured out for others, and spent for God.

What about the liberal use of the salt to draw out the things that need to come out of our lives? The salt is the Word of God, without which we can’t melt off the worldliness and the carnality of our flesh. Without the knowledge and the hearing of God’s living Word, our hearts remain frozen and hardened. We only begin to melt when we truly see God for who he is and choose to respond to his touch.

How did the Lord present his glory to Moses when he stood in the cleft of the rock? God said, "I will cause my goodness to pass in front of you and I will proclaim my name in your presence"(Exodus 33:19). Then he allowed Moses to see him pass, but no man could see God's face and live, he said. So Moses only saw the happy trail as he passed by, and this is what he heard: The Lord is full of tenderness, compassion and truth. He said he is gracious and abounding in love! He proclaimed that he is forgiving of wickedness, rebellion and sin, but he will punish the guilty. Yes, when we come in contact with the true salt of God, we melt, with all our self-will and obstinacy. How foolish is human pride before the omnipotent God. We need Him. We need his favor desperately. We need to acknowledge our guiltiness and enter into that loving forgiveness in his sweet presence. We have to melt, no, we ought to melt or the day will come that we will melt before Him who hung the stars upon nothing.

The outer wooden bucket is like our human bodies, ruddy, beat up, the part that everyone sees. But the tin is more precious, and like the inner part of our being, it is the place where we hide our true selves: our heart. It’s on the inside that the quality of what you pour into the bin is exactly what you’ll get out of it. If you spend time investing in your spiritual life, your time in the Word, in prayer, learning to hear God’s voice, then you’ll reap what you sow. You will know the peace of God.

God Himself peers into your heart to check on the consistency of your life. Just as the silversmith watches over the silver vat to see the reflection of His face as the dross is skimmed off, He alone is able and caring enough to inspect the contents and measure what is in your heart. "The Word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account" (Hebrews 4:12-13). But, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives" (I John 1:9-10). There are no short cuts in spiritual life productions and God gives the final test.

This leads to the time involved. Every good thing takes time. If we had decided to open up the batch after five or ten minutes, we’d be eating slush, plain and simple. You have to put the time in, and you have to be patient. In the same way, you can’t rush the process of what God wants to do in your life.

Churning isn’t easy. The cutting blade is sharp and uncomfortable as that inner batch is stirred. When my life is being churned in trials or set to spinning in emotional turmoil, I need to be reminded that God has a plan. I need to be encouraged to wait on the Lord, and trust him. I need to know that God’s ways are not my ways of seeing things and that He often works in opposite and higher principles. "For my thoughts are not your thoughts... declares the Lord. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:9). Life science is full of examples of these ironic opposites, isn't it. Just like melting is required for freezing, and motion is necessary to create immobility of the cells, the wondrous God specializes in transforming these temporary negatives into final positives. He knows what he’s doing! Our master designer is all about process.

All this points to the final production. The DAY will appear when we all hear the Father’s cheerful voice, “Come! It’s time my children! Come and enjoy what I have prepared for you. Everything is ready! Let’s party!” We will lay aside all the filthy rags and rest from our toil. In the twinkling of an eye, we will be seated for a celebration in glory like a bunch of squealing kids. Everyone will be there! All the sweat and labor and sorrow of this earth will be forgotten. At that time, we will know that all of this mess was worth it, and we will enjoy a sure reward.

Let’s celebrate the joy of life. Let’s savor the abundant life God’s given us. Let’s be ready for the life to come.

Ice cream, anyone?