Stories of Redemption and Chocolate-Covered Pretzels

This is a story about my favorite bag of chocolate-covered pretzels, which is somewhat similar to the last story I shared.

It starts one evening years ago when I was preparing a dessert for a meal I would be hosting the following day. I had already started making the dessert (if I recall correctly) when I realized I was missing a few necessary ingredients, so I was soon off to the store to buy them. While there, a bag of chocolate-covered pretzels caught my eye, and since I have such a huge sweet tooth, into the shopping cart they went.

Back at home fifteen minutes or so later, as I was talking to my younger sister on the phone while putting my groceries away, I stopped our conversation mid-sentence.

“I can’t find my chocolate-covered pretzels!” I complained.

By now, it was getting late, and the city where I was living at the time wasn’t so safe. In some ways, it was tempting to simply forget about those pretzels and stay home. But I just couldn’t. Those pretzels were mine! I had paid for them fair and square, so there was no way I was going to leave them behind!

I shortly got off of the phone with my sister and made my way back to the store once again, and as I drove there in the dark of night, I sensed God reassuring me of a truth I already knew–that He would never abandon me. I was His, and He would never leave me behind.

I also couldn’t help but think of the parable that Jesus told of the lost sheep, as follows:

So he told them this parable: “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it?
And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.

Luke 15:3-7 ESV

The mundane task of retrieving those pretzels all the sudden became this meaningful moment as I meditated on God’s Word and the fresh perspective my “lost” bag of junk food was giving me.

There is something really beautiful in knowing that Jesus doesn’t just settle for the 99. It’s precious, because we were all the one lost sheep at some point in our lives. We were lost, but Jesus knew we would be found. He would seek us out and draw us to Him, and there would be much rejoicing in heaven over our own repentance.

I realized that,  if I could go back to the store that late of night to claim a bag of chocolate-covered pretzels that only cost a few dollars, then how much more would Jesus seek out His lost sheep and never abandon those who were part of His fold, because He paid for them all by His very own blood. I’m so grateful that He doesn’t leave the one lost sheep behind, and I’m especially grateful that He sought me out and brought me into His fold.

To conclude my story about the pretzels, I got to the store a few minutes later, and the cashier had my bag on hand and readily handed it to me as soon as I approached her. Fortunately,  the rest of the evening was uneventful as I made the dessert and munched on those pretzels. Ironically enough, I don’t even care for pretzels that much, but those chocolate-covered ones were irresistible that night, and they were all the tastier after my effort to retrieve them and because of the deepened appreciation of the gospel they caused me to have.

I don’t think I’ll ever be able to eat chocolate-covered pretzels without thinking of this incident and the lessons it taught me that evening, and I’m thankful for that. The gospel is worthy of reflecting upon every day, so I’m happy to have another thing to remind me of it.