July 27, 2010

Number 30

What’s for Dinner?

Recently, during an interview on a talk radio station, I heard a local politician declare that “change is inedible.”  She then paused and said, “I always have a hard time saying that word.”  Obviously, with the march of progress in mind, her declaration meant to say, “change is inevitable.”

But, you know, she might have been right with her first comment.  Sometimes, change is “inedible.”  I think even Rachel Ray would admit that sometimes in the kitchen you do things a certain way just because they’ve always been done that way.  We’ve all heard the story of the young bride who cut the end off her ham before cooking it.  When her husband asked why, she confessed that her mother always did it that way.  When she asked her mother why she cut the end of the ham off, the mother paused and said that Granny always did it that way.  Finally, when the aged matriarch was queried about the ham cutting habit, she smiled and said, “I had to; my baking pan was too small.”

Sometimes, though, change is just hard to swallow –  it’s “inedible.” We have a comfort zone that desires the familiar, even if the familiar is uncomfortable. Remember the Israelites in the wilderness.  They longed for the cucumbers and onions of their captivity rather than the promised abundance in the land of milk and honey (Num. 11:5).

Even though change is often resisted, it is an axiom of our human condition that there can be no growth without change.  Growth requires change.  From clothes that become too small to childish thoughts that reveal their foolishness, God designed us to outgrow what we used to be like; He designed us to change.  Paul told the Corinthians that God makes things grow.  Therefore, we are to “grow in grace and knowledge” and “grow up in our salvation.”  In fact, we are to “grow up into Christ.”  This kind of growth means that old things no longer fit.  Thoughts, behaviors, eating habits – all these are intended to change as one grows into being like Jesus.  Isn’t this what is meant by repentance?  Core to the gospel is the recognition that needed change is coupled to the commitment to change.  Like Paul, we are to “put away childish things” when we grow up.

As I am on the threshold of official eligibility for AARP,  sometimes I’m an example that “growing old” does not necessarily mean “growing up.”  I still have too many hungers that distract me from being like Jesus.  Like a child refusing to try anything new, I sit at a banquet table covered with delicious new treats and still I wonder if I can stop at McDonalds on the way home. Yes, sometimes change is “inedible” because I just don’t want to give up my old eating habits.

I guess you could say that the battle in my life is a battle between the “Golden Arches” and the “Pearly Gates.”  Content to stay the same as I’ve always been, I can continue to grub away at the “come as you are” fast food restaurant; while, all the while, a full course gourmet meal is waiting for me at the 5-star heavenly banquet.  But one has to “dress up” for that dinner.  It means I have to change my clothes.

Lucky for me though, I have an invitation to that banquet because “all who have been baptized into Christ have been clothed with Christ” (Gal. 3:27).

Could somebody pass me the milk and honey?

                                                        (by Mike Weimer)

More than Survivors

2010 Wednesday Summer Series

Those who are more than survivors . . .

Walk by Faith not By Sight (Like Abraham)

June 9                   Alan Henderson

 Don’t Let Sin Get the Best of Us (Like David)

June 9                      Alfred Donald

 Risk Everything for God and His People

(Like Ruth)

June 16                     Scott Franks

 Serve God with Passion (Like Joshua)

June 23                      Patrick Gray

 Rebuild Spiritual Protection (Like Nehemiah)

June 30                                 Mike Sparks

 Always Does Good (Like Tabitha)

 July   7                    Ron Bradshaw

 Make Spiritual Choices (Like Moses)

    July 14                      Taylor Hammett

 Serve God with Passion (Like Joshua)

    July 24                      Dan Thompson

 Engage Spiritual Battles with Courage

(Like Elijah)

July 28                     Bob Staples

See Possibilities Not Just Problems (Like Caleb)

August 4                    Ben Slocumb

Hold on to Their Dreams (Like Jacob)

August 11              Barry Blackburn

Share God's Love with Those Around Us

(Like Paul)

August 18                   Chris King

Look at Life through God's Perspective

(Like Joseph)

August 25                 Ron Edwards

Watch Out for Compromises (Like Daniel)

September 1               Mitch Grubb