my four year old sits at the dinner table staring at his plate of food. broccoli. the bane of his existence. before he could complete sentences, he would adorably declare, "eeewww bwaacohwee." this phase of hating vegetables has not ceased. its a struggle. every. single. night. and he sits there, well after we have all cleaned our plates. well after i have cleaned up the kitchen. and some nights, i bargain. "if you take four bites of your vegetable, you can have dessert." and he does, begrudgingly. he can talk himself into putting vile, healthy things into his stomach if he knows he can have something sweet afterward. the other night, the broccoli fiasco happened that downright sent me over the edge. sometimes a fight over green things can wear a mother down. that night, as i lay in bed, drifting off to sleep, i had a thought...
this is how i relate to Jesus. how most of us, as believers, relate to our Christian lives. He puts that plate of broccoli in front of us. and we sigh the deepest, most childish sigh we can muster. we roll our eyes. sometimes, we throw tantrums. no, youre not the only one. we all do it. we all, at one time or another, are given something that we do not want. that we think is grotesque and hideous and the worst! and we are good. we do good things. we are the believers. the chosen people. how could this possibly come from God? and this is when the lies of the prosperity gospel are burnt to a crisp. because there is no such thing. you can look at any single one of the main players of Scripture. their lives on paper will tell you. this life? it aint the glamorous life.
moses. this guy was sent down a river in a basket. adopted into the pharoahs house. the richest of the rich, until one day he is overwhelmed with his internal story of right and wrong. and he kills. and runs. and disappears. but not from God. and he is found. and sent to recapture what was lost. which sounds prosperous, right? they do escape the egyptians, but end up wandering through the desert for forty years. and if being in charge of a large group of ungrateful, hedonistic people wasnt enough... moses makes one mistake and is denied access to the promise land. ouch. and he still gives thanks.
joseph. a simple dream. but is a loud mouth about it. so his brothers sell him into slavery. he makes the best of a horrible situation. ends up rising to the top, only to be taken down by a jealous womans lie. back down to the bottom. and still he praises God.
jacob. job. david. peter. paul.
Jesus. the son of God. perfect. no sin. no mistakes. suffered.
you see, in modern day america, we have this idea that if we follow the commandments and dont commit "the worst sins." (btw theyre all equal) that if we are good people, living the good life for Christ then we will have it easy. the prophets may have laughed in our faces. mother theresa would have said something very different.
but i am the child in front of the broccoli, asking "if i eat this, do i get something better afterward?" sometimes, some people do. sometimes, the answer is no. and i am given broccoli again. and again. and i am the jew in the desert, complaining about the manna. and im so blinded by my complaints of my lack of. of my boring. that i cant see the miraculous blessing of manna falling from the sky in the middle of the wilderness. of the broccoli that has been placed in front of me. to nourish me. to keep me alive and well. to keep my giving thanks. because i am not without.
as Gods obedient people, we are not given every desire here on earth. praise Jesus. when we do good day after day, serving, loving and we get very little if anything in return... we are disappointed. its human nature. but its also because, no matter how permanent this all feels, it is not. our hearts were created for a different Home. one that is being prepared for us. where glorious riches await. the one where the truest blessing awaits. we get to see the face of God Himself.
then sings my soul
my Savior, God to Thee
how great Thou art
how great Thou art
No comments:
Post a Comment