By: Dwayne Parton

Jelly Bean Theology

The Jelly Belly™ is the world’s most perfect jelly bean. Every one of them is alike. Small, colorful, and tasty. Well, apart from those Buttered Popcorn flavored one’s that I am constantly mistaking for the delicious Coconut flavored ones. Did you know that Buttered Popcorn is one of their most popular flavors? There’s clearly something wrong with society, or at least their taste buds. Anyhow, each perfect jelly bean is stamped with the Jelly Belly™ logo. Each one has their maker’s mark, and Jelly Belly™ is proud of every single one of their millions of jelly beans.

These jelly beans represent us. Millions….No! Billions, all designed to bring joy to the Maker. All designed to be a colorful and creative accomplishment all the way down to the smallest detail. We were designed to bare our Maker’s mark. We were designed to be perfect, exactly how our Maker had intended. We were designed…..[reality sets in]….but I’m not exactly perfect.

Did you ever wonder what happens to the Jelly Belly jelly beans that are a little less perfect? Or the ones that somehow escaped the Jelly Belly logo stamper? – Jelly Belly™

Not every jelly bean is perfect. Some are a little longer. Some a little fatter. Some thought it was a good idea to piggy back….turns out, they are now stuck to together. Some just dodged the logo stamp. But regardless of how closely they may resemble the Jelly Belly™ jelly bean, they are are not. They are all Belly Flops®. Jelly Belly™ is still proud of it’s creation, and they gave every messed up jelly bean the opportunity to still bare their maker’s mark.

That’s sounds more like it. That’s us. We’re a little less perfect, maybe a lot less perfect. Some of us may look pretty good, but we still fall short of what our Maker had intended. We are all belly flops!

23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ~ Romans 3:23

You know I almost forgot the most important part. Our Maker, has provided us with a way to bare His mark. A way in which we can claim Him as our own and He will proudly claim us, imperfections and all. I’ll let the verse speak for itself.

16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. ~ John 3:16

I hope that you guys enjoyed my little analogy. I know it’s not a perfect one, but I think it does communicate some neat points. I’d love to hear what you think about the article so please give me some feedback. And now, I leave you with a video filmed using Jelly Belly™ jelly beans and a little disclaimer because I kind of feel like you need to these days. This article in no way is a representation of the opinions or beliefs of Jelly Belly™ nor was it sanctioned by them. Enjoy the video.