Faith is not cotton candy.
I know this because I know how cotton candy works. In fact, I’m sure a lot of us do.
Let me give you a bit of backstory: I remember going to Walt Disney World as a child. Even in my family’s recent visits, we’ve always made a point to visit the Main Street Confectionery at the Magic Kingdom. We usually visited that candy shop specifically for the cotton candy. It was a delight made of pink or blue spun sugar, and we made sure to get a few bags – ones to eat right then, and ones to save at the hotel for later.
But we couldn’t save that cotton candy for long, because one, we didn’t let it sit for long without eating it, and two, cotton candy gets old and hard and stale if it’s not eaten for a few days after it’s made. But here’s the thing about cotton candy: once we did eat it, it only lasted a few seconds. Each bite disintegrated just like the last one, and before we knew it, the bags we shared were gone. It was a fleeting pleasure, but a pleasure nonetheless.
Dear readers, faith is not like that at all.
And neither is the love God has for us, neither is Jesus’ intercession for us in Heaven, neither are God’s promises for us, and neither is the gift of salvation given to us.
Let’s take a look at exactly how faith isn’t like cotton candy.
Cotton candy looks tasty, but lasts a moment. Faith is not so.
Cotton candy is quite literally spun sugar. Sugar dissolves. As such, cotton candy – as wonderful and delightful and sweet as it is – only lasts a short time before quite literally melting in our mouths.
Also, I love the United Kingdom’s name for Cotton Candy: Fairy Floss. I love this name because I’ve always loved fairies ever since I was a little girl, but I think it further illustrates the nature of this confection: like all dreams, no matter how fantastic or magical they are, they too must move on…dissolving, if you will.
Faith in God is far more than anything we can dream of. In fact, it’s far from imaginary; it’s real, and we can lean on our it in our brightest and darkest hours. “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” (Psalm 46:1).
Cotton candy is sugary without much substance. Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen.
Hebrews 11:1 is widely considered as the standard definition of faith for Christians, and for good reason. This verse begins an entire chapter of a “faith hall of fame” of those who have had faith in God long before we came into existence.
Faith did not come easy to these people, however. Abraham had to give up everything – including his homeland and his own name – to go to a land God would show him (Hebrews 11:8-9). Sarah had a son in spite of her old age (Hebrews 11:11). Rahab had to place her trust in men she did not know to save her when the time came for her city to be destroyed and be in the hands of God’s people (Hebrews 11:31). And that’s just to name a few.
But did God give them everything He promised them? Absolutely. Something that’s fleeting can’t do that for us, but God sure can. We can be assured of that.
Cotton candy is not nutritious in the slightest. God’s Word is the bread of life.
Cotton candy is that: candy. It’s not meant for every day; in fact, I think the last time I ate cotton candy was in Disneyworld, and that was about four years ago. If we had cotton candy for breakfast/lunch/dinner, not only would we probably crash from all the sugar, but it wouldn’t help our health in the long run.
Consider the Samaritan woman at the well. Jesus knew that she’d had a troubled past, but He offered her the living water anyway (John 4:1-26). Also, consider that the day after Jesus fed the five thousand, He explained to a crowd that He was the bread of life, as though He wanted to tell them that there was something even better than the food they were given (John 6:22-59).
God’s Word – and His promises and love for us – satisfy us greater than anything in this world can.
At the end of the day, cotton candy and faith are polar opposites. While there’s nothing wrong with enjoying the little things, we need to remember that faith is far from small, insignificant, or fleeting. It won’t go the way cotton candy goes; we can rest assured that our faith in God will lead us Heavenward.
By Savannah Cottrell
