We needed to make one last trip to the grocery store before Easter dinner preparations. As I walked into the store, I began choking, sputtering, gagging, and coughing. My husband, Ron expressed concern as I quickly made my way to the drink refrigerator, grabbed the first drink within reach and popped it open, taking a massive swig without even paying for it. This was an emergency because, well, a bug had just flown into my mouth and straight into my throat. I could feel about ½ way down.

Right then my cell phone rang. Son Tucker greeted me. “How’s it going, Mom?” I blurted out! “I just swallowed a bug!” The horror of it was the only thing I could think about. “What? Are you kidding? Was it dead?” “Well, it is now.” I know he didn’t mean to, but he laughed.

As we continued to chat, I made my way to the next need. Something solid to swallow. I had to get that thing down. A box of Wheat Thins caught my eye. With one quick move, I opened the box & started chewing and swallowing a couple crackers. Then I saw one of my favorites, M&M’s. Well, if anything ever justified eating a bag of M&M’s, this was it. It wasn’t a single size bag but rather a 10 oz. shareable. I might eat the entire thing if that’s what it took to get this bug down. Fortunately, when I explained to the check-out clerk why I had opened containers, she was very understanding.

Back home during dinner, still grossed out by the bug, I commented to Ron. “Well, I hope the bug enjoyed OUR dinner.” Yes, I know I’m making much too big of a deal out of this and I know it’s just protein, but that had never happened before. It was disgusting. 

While we’re on the subject of disgusting, have you ever truly thought about John the Baptist and his diet of locust and honey. I understand that locust was considered edible and clean at that time, but seriously, all I can say is thank God for the honey! Let’s face it. Even beyond John’s meals made of bugs, there’s lots of disgusting things in the Bible. We read of murder, rape, rebellion, adultery, incest, infant sacrifices, slavery & betrayal, just to name a few. Thousands of years later, mankind is still up to these same disgusting acts. It kind of makes one wonder why God bothers to keep us around.

However, we also find the stories of redemption, salvation, miracles, forgiveness, and justice. From Genesis to Revelation, Scriptures remind us that in spite of our disgusting nature as humans, God intervenes in ways that are much higher and glorious. One of my favorite phrases in the Bible is: “But God.” Ephesians 2:4 says: “But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead.”

Easter season is a perfect time to acknowledge that there is nothing we’ve ever done that is so bad or disgusting that it isn’t overshadowed by His love. Out of love, Jesus went to the cross, dying an excruciating death, so that when we stand before God, our sins are no more. His sacrifice cannot be undone any more than I can unswallow the bug. In His words: It is finished. In our world full of locust or honey opportunities, don’t miss out on the sweetest of them all: Eternal life with our heavenly Father. The sacrifice made by Christ, out of love for humanity, was made for the most depraved as well as the honorable. May His sacrifice inspire us to embrace one another with love, for HE IS RISEN.