No Holding Back: Pt 2 Shame

No Holding Back: Pt 2 Shame

“She took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate… and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God”

Genesis 3:6, 8


Shame has a way of making us want to hide away. We don’t want our inadequacies exposed. Instead of stepping forward and putting our talents to good use, shame makes us want to lie low and avoid being noticed.


Sometimes I wonder how Eve kept going after eating the forbidden fruit. Knowing all the pain she had caused by her actions. Not only had she let her creator down, she caused her and her husband to be expelled from the perfect garden.


Her relationship with Adam must have been strained. Especially after he landed all the blame for it at her feet! (Genesis 3:12)


She had to endure watching her initial rebellion creep its way into all things – including her son, Cain, who, in jealousy, killed his own brother, Abel.


Yet she didn’t give up. She stayed married to Adam. She kept having children, knowing how painful this would be after the fall. She carried on, even after Abel was killed. (Genesis 4:25)


How did she keep going, despite the intense shame she must have felt?


Perhaps, it was because God *still* loved her.


God did not take away his joyful command to “be fruitful and multiply.” God did not say, “actually, now you’ve messed up, I don’t want you doing those tasks I set for you anymore.”


Rather, during the aftermath of the fall, it was clear God still wanted Adam and Eve to “fill the earth and subdue it.” God explained having children and producing food would be harder, but he did not take these responsibilities away.


God also provided them both with clothes, to cover their nakedness, providing a remedy for their shame.


We have all messed up in the past. However, that does not mean we should now seek to avoid the life-fulfilling work that God expects us to do.


As we step up to each task set before us, we might feel exposed and inadequate. But, like he did for Eve, God has provided a remedy for our shame too.


He sent his son, Jesus, into this world to deal with our deepest needs, replacing our old filthy rags of sin, with fresh clothes of righteousness.


‘The Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him [Jesus] will not be put to shame.”’

Romans 10:11


We can find renewed confidence in keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus and remembering that we are serving him. Then, we will have no reason to hide away, or bury our talents, as the man in my last blog did.


My prayer is that we don’t let a sense of shame or inadequacy stop us doing whatever it is that God has called us to do. Rather, may it humble us and cause us to throw ourselves, with greater dependence, on him – it’s where we’re meant to be.

Recipe

What could be more tempting than a gooey chocolate fondant? Thankfully these desserts are not forbidden, but it’s probably best to limit one’s consumption of them to just occasionally!

Chocolate fondants have a reputation for being very tricky, but having plucked up the courage to give them a go, I’ve found them fairly straight forward.

They also freeze very well before baking, meaning you can prep them well ahead of time.


This recipe is adapted from the BBC Good Food Chocolate Fondant recipe.

Chocolate Fondants

Ingredients

Preparing the tins

  • 50 g butter
  • cocoa powder

Making the batter

  • 200 g dark chocolate broken into small pieces
  • 200 g butter chopped in cubes
  • 200 g caster sugar
  • 4 eggs and 4 yolks
  • 200 g plain flour
  • Good pinch of salt

Instructions

  1. Firstly melt the 50g of butter and brush it thickly over the inside of the muffin trays. Place them in the freezer for 5 mins to chill, then brush more butter into the holes. Once the melted butter is used up dust each muffin hole with cocoa powder, tipping the moulds and tapping off the excess, so all the butter is covered in a fine layer.
  2. Gently heat the remaining 200g of butter and 200g of chocolate in a large heatproof bowl in the microwave in bursts of 30 seconds stirring frequently until they are both completely melted. This can also be done in a bowl over a pan of simmering water. Once melted and well mixed, leave this to one side to cool.
  3. Whisk the eggs and egg yolks with the cater sugar until it is pale and the whisk leaves a trail which remains for 2 seconds. Sift and gently fold the flour and salt into the egg mixture.
  4. Fold in the chocolate mixture, only adding a third at a time until it is completely mixed through.
  5. Fill each muffin hole to the top, there should be just enough mixture to fill all 12 holes.
  6. Place the tins in the fridge for 30 mins while you wait for the oven to heat to 200C /180C fan/Gas 6.
  7. Bake the fondants for 10 minutes. (You may need to experiment with times depending on your oven and how gooey you like your fondant!)
  8. Gently remove the fondants from each muffin hole and place on plate. Serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.
  9. If you want to freeze the fondants you can bake them from frozen, just add 5 minutes to the cooking time.

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