The Glory of God in a Bagel

On By Elisha McFarlandIn Blog Posts, Christian Posts
The Glory of God in a Bagel

Have you ever had a bagel? You know, a nice fat one with extra bread, maybe with a little fried banana or a roasted ant on top?

Yeah, me neither.

I prefer a normal bagel, thank you very much. A little peanut butter or apple butter, and I’m set for the afternoon. Throw in some chocolate milk, and I’ll last most of the morning too.

I honestly didn’t know the true wonder of bagels until about three weeks ago. My mom had bought a half-dozen from the grocery store, and I randomly decided to try one.

I knew instantly that I had found the perfect snack.

They’re soft, tasty, and filling too. Easy to bite into with enough variance in toppings that you’ll never really have the same bagel twice.

The Bible is like that in a lot of ways, actually. When read with the right appetite, it becomes easy to digest and provides more than enough energy to get you through the day. It is never the same, and as you continue to read, you go deeper and deeper into God’s word, discovering entirely new things that seemed to have been masked until that moment.

Interestingly, the more you read the Bible and continue to discover God’s word, the easier it becomes to appreciate His creation. As a newer Christian, I found it rather difficult to appreciate creation. While others wondered at the complexity of cells or microorganisms, I just thought, “It’s a stupid plant….”

Eventually, I began to understand. As I read more, I started to appreciate God’s creation, and this extends further than just nature. God’s creation includes the more obscure, difficult-to-see aspects of life, including the Bible itself. Planets, light, strawberries, chlorine, the Chicago Bears, coffee, basketball, a fly’s eyes, and yes, bagels, are all stunning parts of God’s creation.

Ok, stop and think for a second. You are sitting somewhere (hopefully), almost completely still, and yet you are spinning at over 1,000 miles an hour, hurtling around and around a giant ball of fire at an average rate of 67,000 miles an hour. Somehow we aren’t flung off like bits of mud on a pottery wheel, leaving us floating in the black expanse of literal nothingness that we call, quite aptly, “space”.

Furthermore, your body is made of 30 trillion cells (enough cells that, if turned into dollars, you’d have enough dollars to give every person on earth around $3,000), composted of around 7 x 1027 atoms (that’s 7 followed by 27 zeros). Your brain, a mysterious organ we still don’t fully understand, is sending electrical signals to various parts of your body, and somehow, your body knows how to comprehend those signals and respond in accordance.

The first paragraph made you feel small. The second made you feel huge. But from the most massive solar system (large enough that it would take thousands of years for even light itself to travel through) to the tiniest atom, God is in complete control. The very molecules and atoms themselves, created individually by Him, respond to His command. So, the next time you feel sick, just know that God even sees the germs in your bloodstream or the fat in your kidneys.

So the next time you eat a bagel, think of God. Every atom in that bagel was carefully and thoughtfully placed there by God himself, ready to bring your body energy. Don’t, however, be satisfied with bagels alone. Feed your soul with the food of the Bible, another carefully and methodically created aspect of God’s creation. He created it for a reason, and nothing should stop you from enjoying His creation.

“Feed your soul with the food of the Bible.”

Thanks for reading, and I hope you have an amazing day!

-Elisha McFarland

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22 thoughts on “The Glory of God in a Bagel”

  1. Karl Bickerstaff

    You know, I never though I’d hear that analogy… but it works.
    One of the most fascinating things about the body to me (being a technology person) is that we’ve constructed massive supercomputers, taking up huge buildings and drawing thousands or millions of watts of power, and we still haven’t reached the processing power of a human brain, which fits inside a fairly small round space and uses about 20 watts of power. Granted, there’s an inherent difference between how computers calculate and how brains calculate, but still.

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  2. Esther

    I really enjoyed this post. As soon as I saw the title I had to click on it. 😂 I usually just put butter on my bagels, though sometimes I enjoy cream cheese or peanut butter on it as well.

    I love the comparison; great post as always!

    ~Esther

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  3. Josiah Brinson

    Great post Elisha! The complexity of God’s universe, down to even the tiniest details, is a wonderful reminder of His sovereignty and power. It is so comforting to know that God is in control, and that should drive us to seek after and trust Him always. Thanks for that timely reminder!

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  8. Naomi McMahan

    Have you ever had a cinnamon bagel from Panera Bread? They are so heavenly that it makes me want to melt. I had one once when babysitting with my cousin. The mom left them for us. Even though I’d already had breakfast, I wanted a second bagel.
    I definitely do feel like I appreciate Scripture and nature more as I mature, and find new things every time I read it. Reading the whole Bible in chronological order on a one year plan is actually what brought me into a much firmer relationship with God four years ago. Since then I’ve read through the whole bible every other year (which is to say I’ve only done it twice, but I will be beginning again this January. Maybe I’ll enjoy some bagels while reading.)

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  11. shaletjimmymariam

    I am from India and I never had the opportunity to even try normal bagel. But I read the Bible and I agree to most of the things you said here.

    Liked by 2 people

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