What's in your Sandwich?

Once upon a time - when my older daughter still needed, or at least tolerated, parental supervision, we hit the local mall with a good friend of hers.  After meandering the shops, we went up to the food court for lunch.  Bella’s friend asked for a veggie sub - but without the tomatoes, peppers, and onions.  I tapped my credit card.  $5 for a white bun with 4 cucumber slices and a leaf of lettuce.  Huh.

How often do we live like this?

One order of Christianity please.  Oh wait.  What does it come with?  Loving my enemies?  Nah - too bitter.  Helping the poor?  Ew - that’s messy.  Giving up my own way?  Too tough.  Tithing?  No thanks.  Hold all of that.  Just a hollow religion with a few slices of feel-good and a leaf of salvation, please and thank you.

Jesus says, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” (John 10:10)  There is a fullness in God’s perfect will.  An abundant, overflowing feast of goodness.

We often think that we can just pick-and-choose what we like about Christ’s way of life.  We can pick out what is “right” for our own “personal taste.”

But it leaves us empty, hungry for more, looking at our sad little bun of life wondering, “Is this all there is?”

It dishonours the heavy price that Jesus paid - not just a mere $5, but his very life.  Everything he had.

What parts of following Jesus would you rather pick out?

When we choose to follow Christ, he asks us to trust him completely to load our life with the full deal.  There are bits that are sweet, fragrant, exciting…and bits that are bitter, messy, hard to chew…But when we determine to say yes to the great Sandwich Artist - to surrender to all he has laid down for us - we will be blown away and blessed beyond our imaginations by the incredible whole-ness he has to offer.  We will be filled with all he longs to give us - infinitely better, more delicious and satisfying than what we would choose for ourselves.

Lectio Divina:

Meditate on Psalm 34.

Memorize Psalm 34:8 -
“Taste and see that the Lord is good;
blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.”