Just wanted to clarify my "Waitress" post. When I wrote about my pastor describing the table where we feed on God's Word, I mentioned the screaming baby in the highchair. Well, I totally messed that up. And it will make a lot more sense when I make the correction!
He was actually referencing a screaming adult, still sitting in the highchair - this adult screaming, "Feed me, feed me" when they should know how to feed themselves or to at least sit at the grown up table. In this analogy (or in real life), one should never ignore a screaming infant - they clearly have a need that isn't being met. They usually stop screaming when it is.
Anyway, just had that epiphany in the shower the other day.
Friday, May 30, 2008
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Friends
Check out my fabulous friends, Denbigh & Stephanie Cherry! We had a blast hanging with them at the Gaylord Texan resort on May 9. Thursday, May 8, 2008
A Waitress
Have you ever waited tables? I have. I spent several years while in (and out) of college waiting tables. It's hard work. It's messy. I would come home smelling like fajitas every day and that smell is hard to get out! You have to be gracious, accomodating, and kind to all kinds of people from every walk of life. And sometimes you are rewarded with a big tip - and other times you may get just a penny.
My pastor, Ed Young, has frequently referred to the church as a dinner table of sorts. A healthy church has all these elements: the host who serves dinner (the Word of God) and seated at the table with him should be non-believers, new believers and mature believers. And then occasionally you have a screaming baby in the highchair next to the table complaining they aren't "being fed" and he (our pastor) says to just ignore them. But I digress...
I think we can map this dinner table analogy to our own walk with Christ. We initially come to the table with an inkling that there might be something good to eat here - something true that just might fill us up permanently. So we take a bite and it tastes really good. Like the best ever! So we decide to sit a spell and consume. And then we move over to believing and accepting that there is none besides Him - that we need Him to cover us. And we fervently and passionately consume, consume, consume. This is good. Obviously, the next move is to "mature believer". We are learning Scripture, studying and feeding on His word with a voracious appetite. This is good.
But should we stop here? Is there, in fact, another position in the "restaurant"? Yes. It's called the Wait Staff - the Server. If we never leave the table and start serving others, we'll just get fat. Do you know how we work off the fat? By leaving the table. By getting up and discipling someone else - by serving the infallible Word of God to someone else! By literally serving food to the homeless.
Our culture is one of gluttonous consumption and self-absorption. This is even in our churches! It's all about me and what I can get out of the message. I need to learn more about God's Word and His Will for my life. These are good things - we do need to spend time in His Word daily - this is how He reveals Himself to us! But are we just sitting around getting fat and not allowing His Word to give us traction. We've got to get out of the lab and get some real-world application.
And you know what? It's hard work. It's messy. You may come home smelling like smoke or whatever. And sometimes you get an earthly reward - like witnessing someone come to Christ. Or you may get spit on or yelled at. You may be persecuted for sharing your faith at the office. You may be criticized for homeschooling your children. But you can guarantee that when you serve others, you are storing up treasure in Heaven - your mind can't even comprehend the huge "tip" awaiting you.
I encourage you today to be a waiter or waitress. Serve God's food - the Truth - to someone today. Get up from the table if you've been sitting there awhile. It's time to take a walk to the kitchen, pick up a tray, and deliver it to some people at a different table in your station.
What good is it, my brothers (and sisters!), if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
James 2:14-17
Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men, because you know that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free.
Ephesians 6:7-8
...Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.
Matthew 20:28
My pastor, Ed Young, has frequently referred to the church as a dinner table of sorts. A healthy church has all these elements: the host who serves dinner (the Word of God) and seated at the table with him should be non-believers, new believers and mature believers. And then occasionally you have a screaming baby in the highchair next to the table complaining they aren't "being fed" and he (our pastor) says to just ignore them. But I digress...
I think we can map this dinner table analogy to our own walk with Christ. We initially come to the table with an inkling that there might be something good to eat here - something true that just might fill us up permanently. So we take a bite and it tastes really good. Like the best ever! So we decide to sit a spell and consume. And then we move over to believing and accepting that there is none besides Him - that we need Him to cover us. And we fervently and passionately consume, consume, consume. This is good. Obviously, the next move is to "mature believer". We are learning Scripture, studying and feeding on His word with a voracious appetite. This is good.
But should we stop here? Is there, in fact, another position in the "restaurant"? Yes. It's called the Wait Staff - the Server. If we never leave the table and start serving others, we'll just get fat. Do you know how we work off the fat? By leaving the table. By getting up and discipling someone else - by serving the infallible Word of God to someone else! By literally serving food to the homeless.
Our culture is one of gluttonous consumption and self-absorption. This is even in our churches! It's all about me and what I can get out of the message. I need to learn more about God's Word and His Will for my life. These are good things - we do need to spend time in His Word daily - this is how He reveals Himself to us! But are we just sitting around getting fat and not allowing His Word to give us traction. We've got to get out of the lab and get some real-world application.
And you know what? It's hard work. It's messy. You may come home smelling like smoke or whatever. And sometimes you get an earthly reward - like witnessing someone come to Christ. Or you may get spit on or yelled at. You may be persecuted for sharing your faith at the office. You may be criticized for homeschooling your children. But you can guarantee that when you serve others, you are storing up treasure in Heaven - your mind can't even comprehend the huge "tip" awaiting you.
I encourage you today to be a waiter or waitress. Serve God's food - the Truth - to someone today. Get up from the table if you've been sitting there awhile. It's time to take a walk to the kitchen, pick up a tray, and deliver it to some people at a different table in your station.
What good is it, my brothers (and sisters!), if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
James 2:14-17
Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men, because you know that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free.
Ephesians 6:7-8
...Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.
Matthew 20:28
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