Why Do Doughnuts Have Holes?

Today, believe it or not, is National Doughnut Day (do you ever wonder who decides these things? I mean, why couldn't today be National Plant a Tree Day or National Hug Your Child Day? - both of which I think would be a better thing to do than eating a doughnut or two!).

As I got to thinking about doughnuts, I got to wondering why doughnuts have holes. I did a little research (about 2 minutes worth!) and came up with two interesting theories. The first states that bakers discovered that in frying up these pastry delights, it was difficult to get them to cook evenly throughout. But some baker somewhere learned that he could solve this problem by removing the center. Voila! The doughnut was born.

A second theory goes back to life on the high seas. Allegedly, a certain sea captain named Hanson Gregory, while manning his post one stormy night, found it impossible both to steer his vessel and to eat his fried cake. In frustration he took his cake and impaled it over one of the spokes of the ship's wheel. When he finally got back to his cake, he realized he had created a nice little finger hole that helped him grip his cake so he could eat it. Pleased with his spark of "ingenuity," Mr. Gregory ordered the galley's cook to fry the cakes with the hole in them from that point onward. And so the doughnut was born.

Now, if you ask me, the first of these theories sounds a lot more credible than the second. But whatever the case, doughnuts have holes. Without the hole, it would no longer be a doughnut. And what would this world be without doughnuts to dunk in your coffee (perhaps a slimmer world?)?

What is true of doughnuts, is also true of Christians. There are a number of things that are true of us -without which we would no longer be Christians. I could go on and on about this - but let me cite just one: compassion for people in need. Of all the major world faiths, Christianity is the one that has done the most for the needy people's of the world. I saw this clearly while in India. The leper hospital we visited for example was started by Christian missionaries. All the orphanages in the area were again Christian. Everywhere we went, the vast majority of humanitarian aid was being administered by Christian groups. Not surprising, given the compassion for needy people that Jesus demonstrated when he was on earth. So as followers of Jesus, we must continue to reach out to those in need (my wife and I have been supporting two children through Children's Fellowship of India (http://www.cfindia.org/) for a number of years as we seek to imitate Jesus in this regard). But as we do, we must never lose sight of the gospel. Alleviating suffering for this life only is not enough. We must prepare the needy for eternity.

To sum it all up ... let me ask you two questions. If you are committed to following Jesus, what are YOU doing to help the needy of this world? And if you are giving to some sort of aid organization, are you sure they are giving out the GOSPEL along with the food, clothing, medicine, etc. that they are distributing?

Thanks for stopping by . . .

pj

PS - If you are looking for a wonderful organization to support, stop by Children's Fellowship of India's web site. Check it out. CFI is adding about 20-25 more children this month and is in need of additional sponsors. For a mere $30 a month, you can sign on as a sponsor. And be assured that along with the food, education, clothing, shelter and health care that these boys receive, they also receive the gospel!

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