Several times prior, we had allowed our five year old son to fix his own salad bowl with our assistance. On this particular night at our favorite seafood restaurant, his mom and I prepared our salads and walked back across the room to our table, feeling confident he could finish his own plate without help. To our horror when we sat down and looked back, there was our young son going from canister to canister tasting each item, his face expressing a big yuck for the broccoli, bean sprouts, chickpeas, and tossing what he didn’t like back in their containers. We dared not shout across the room that would result in everyone looking at him. So, one of us ran through the tables and chairs trying to get to him. Needless to say, it was sometime after much more teaching on etiquette that we allowed him to try again.
People today tend to treat the Bible and the church like a huge buffet. As my son did with food, they toss back any teaching they do not like and pass by it in the future. Grace does not eliminate obedience to God’s Word. The freedom we receive in Christ with His fulfillment of the Law, does not give believers the option of picking and choosing. The writers of the New Testament through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit recorded numerous commands and teachings we are to follow. As we grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (2 Pet 3:18) our obedience to His guidance should grow.
When the Lord gave Moses the design for the Tabernacle, seven times in Exodus Moses wrote that God commanded it must be built exactly to the pattern. Neither Moses nor the priest could pick and choose how they would construct it. When Israel completed it, Moses examined all the work and behold, they had done it; just as the Lord had commanded, this they had done (Exo 39:43). The word for ‘just as’ means exactly. The results of building it according to the pattern was the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle (40v34). This Tabernacle was a copy and shadow of the heavenly things (Heb 8:5) which came through Christ. In the true Tabernacle, Jesus is the High Priest. He also left us a pattern by which we build our lives and our churches. In the Gospels, He demonstrated how we should live. The Book of Acts gives us the pattern of how to build the church. In the remaining epistles, the writers tell us the commands and teachings we should implement into our daily walk with the Lord. We obey these not to gain our salvation, which is by grace alone, rather these commands and teachings are the results of our salvation. Through scripture, His leading, His power, the Holy Spirit teaches us what we are to do to bring glory to Christ. This is a lifelong process. However, the Bible serves none of its teaching as a buffet from which we choose only what we like and feels good.
Here in the South, collard greens provide a staple source for healthy food. Lots of people taste them and say, “yuck”. I admit they have an acquired taste. Our son hated them. More than once, he sat at the kitchen table alone for a lengthy period until he finished them. Now, it is one of his favorite foods. Some of the Bible’s teachings do not taste good with the first bite. It may be bitter, sharp, sour, or spicy. Yet, as we grow in Christ, we understand why God wants us to obey until we delight in His teaching because they make us spiritual healthy and more like Jesus.
As we mature as Christians, we also must learn to observe the details and not give a half-hearted effort. Jesus taught his disciples about obedience to detail in the beginning of His ministry. Peter and his companions had fished all night and caught nothing. As they were washing their nets for storage, Jesus was teaching a nearby crowd. When He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, “Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch (Luk 5:4).” No one caught fish during the day so Peter reluctantly and half-heartedly obeyed. Something that most translations miss from the original language is the fact Peter did not let down several nets as Jesus commanded; rather he let down one single net. He picked and chose how to obey. When they had done this, they enclosed a great quantity of fish, and their nets [literally, one net] began to break (Luk 5:6). They caught so many fish that Peter’s boat and his companion’s boat began sinking. Imagine the blessings they would have received if they had let down all their nets as Jesus instructed.
The Lord has prepared a spiritual feast at His table for us. It is not a buffet. Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, And delight yourself in abundance (Isa 55:2). None of the fine meals I have eaten around the world has ever been from a buffet. In many cultures, it is an insult to leave anything on your plate. The best spiritual food comes from God’s banquet table. We must strive during our life to eat all He serves.
Sustaining Word for the Week: God has prepared a table for you of His finest food. Consume all He serves.