On the side
Some of my past weekend plans were shot. I was looking forward to getting out to Piedmont Park again and playing softball and hanging out with my teammates, but to the contrary the rain forced us all inside. So, instead a cooked myself a buffalo chicken omelet (which I was going to do anyways), spent some time with God (ditto), and watched a movie.
You can make fun of me now, but the movie that was in my DVD player that I watched was "When Harry Met Sally." It's amusing, especially the dynamics between Meg Ryan (Sally) and Billy Crystal (Harry) and their mutual oddities. One conversation that I recall went like this (the Casablanca phone call)...
Sally: "So what kind am I?"
Harry: "You're the worst kind. You think that you're low maintenance, but you're actually high maintenance. 'Waiter, I'll have the salad with the balsamic vinigarette, but I'll have the vinagarette on the side.' 'On the side' is a big thing for you."
Sally: "I just like to have it the way I want it."
Harry: "Yeah - high maintenance."
(before you correct me, I don't recall word-for-word this conversation, but this is the jist.)
Interesting.
Thinking forward, my small group is going through Ephesians in our study right now, and we just discussed Eph 1:3-14, in which Paul lays out that Jesus has "blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ." (1:3b) and then proceeds to lay out what some of them are. In my strange sense of bringing God into my movie watching experiences (yes, you can make fun of me later), I started to think of how I sometimes (maybe you do this too... or I'm the only one) ask Jesus for MY spiritual blessings but want some stuff "on the side" (in a sense, being a "high maintenance Christian"). As in...
"Lord, I really want patience and a heart of mercy... but I would really like this difficult person you have in my life put on the side."
-or-
"Lord, I really want you to bless me with this ministry area, but I would like for you to put the obscurity of preparation on the side."
-or-
"Lord, I want to have a godly, Christ-filled relationship with a great girl, but I would really like for you to put my requirement for humility and patience on the side."
What I have learned, is that trials, discipline, and preparation are all part of the package with these spiritual blessings that Christ has blessed us with. "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverence." (my emphasis) The thing that I have discovered is that God delivers the full package of his blessings, the valleys and the mountaintops, and that nothing is on the side. God wants us to experience the full joy of knowing Him... and a diluted faith without trials or a need to lean our faith fully on Him is not His desire, but a vibrant walk that sees Christ as all-sufficient and accepts all of the spiritual blessings in Christ.
Spiritual blessings "on the side?" In my experience, doing that ruins the dish. Who wants that? Once you see the full painting of what He's doing in your world, putting things on the side just wouldn't produce the same, awesome masterpiece that the complete dish can produce.
Some thoughts... maybe I'm hungry. Hmmmmmm
chris <><
You can make fun of me now, but the movie that was in my DVD player that I watched was "When Harry Met Sally." It's amusing, especially the dynamics between Meg Ryan (Sally) and Billy Crystal (Harry) and their mutual oddities. One conversation that I recall went like this (the Casablanca phone call)...
Sally: "So what kind am I?"
Harry: "You're the worst kind. You think that you're low maintenance, but you're actually high maintenance. 'Waiter, I'll have the salad with the balsamic vinigarette, but I'll have the vinagarette on the side.' 'On the side' is a big thing for you."
Sally: "I just like to have it the way I want it."
Harry: "Yeah - high maintenance."
(before you correct me, I don't recall word-for-word this conversation, but this is the jist.)
Interesting.
Thinking forward, my small group is going through Ephesians in our study right now, and we just discussed Eph 1:3-14, in which Paul lays out that Jesus has "blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ." (1:3b) and then proceeds to lay out what some of them are. In my strange sense of bringing God into my movie watching experiences (yes, you can make fun of me later), I started to think of how I sometimes (maybe you do this too... or I'm the only one) ask Jesus for MY spiritual blessings but want some stuff "on the side" (in a sense, being a "high maintenance Christian"). As in...
"Lord, I really want patience and a heart of mercy... but I would really like this difficult person you have in my life put on the side."
-or-
"Lord, I really want you to bless me with this ministry area, but I would like for you to put the obscurity of preparation on the side."
-or-
"Lord, I want to have a godly, Christ-filled relationship with a great girl, but I would really like for you to put my requirement for humility and patience on the side."
What I have learned, is that trials, discipline, and preparation are all part of the package with these spiritual blessings that Christ has blessed us with. "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverence." (my emphasis) The thing that I have discovered is that God delivers the full package of his blessings, the valleys and the mountaintops, and that nothing is on the side. God wants us to experience the full joy of knowing Him... and a diluted faith without trials or a need to lean our faith fully on Him is not His desire, but a vibrant walk that sees Christ as all-sufficient and accepts all of the spiritual blessings in Christ.
Spiritual blessings "on the side?" In my experience, doing that ruins the dish. Who wants that? Once you see the full painting of what He's doing in your world, putting things on the side just wouldn't produce the same, awesome masterpiece that the complete dish can produce.
Some thoughts... maybe I'm hungry. Hmmmmmm
chris <><
Comments
Ha, ha - :)
God bless Chris,
Shannon