Much.Bigger.Than.Buffet.Lines
Aren’t buffet lines the best? Everyone can agree on a good buffet because there are so many options. A little of this and a little of that. We pick only our favorites to go on our plates, and remember all the items we couldn’t fit for our next go around. I think what makes buffet lines so amazing is all the options, and as Americans we love options. I mean look at it for a minute.
We can get cable television with over a 1000 channels these days.
We can go to Wal Mart and get our cars serviced while we pick up some plants for our gardens, buy furniture for our houses, and snag some groceries for the week.
We can type what ever our heart desires into Google and get 100s of options to choose from.
America from the start has been a group of people looking to escape a dictatorship. We pride ourselves on our differences and celebrate them with the ability to vote, the freedom of speech, and last but certainly not least buffet lines.
I feel that this pick and choose mindset has leaked its way into our ways of thinking about religion these days. We can have a little of this and a little of that. That we can walk down the buffet line of religions and pile our plates up with our favorite theologies and teachings. That we have the option to design our own perfect belief system and somehow God will honor what we choose at the end of the day.
I’ll have the forgiveness of Jesus.
Can I get a side of nirvana from Buddah.
I’ll order the eastern spirituality from Hinduism.
And if I can skip out on going to church that would be awesome!
Sounds ridiculous doesn’t it? But its true. This mindset is why I feel most of us are missing what Jesus is really asking of us. Sure its easy to pile our plates high with the forgiveness, grace, and mercy of Jesus. But Jesus calls us to give with out expecting anything in return. Calls us to love our enemies. Calls us to sacrifice our time and money. Calls us to follow him through the thick and thin. Calls us to submit our lives to his father’s will.
Thats a lot of food and not a lot of options. And if it sounds difficult its because it is. Following Christ was never promised to be easy but it was promised to be the only way to salvation.
Jesus asks us to follow him and that means all of him. Lets put our plates down. Lets remember that this pick and choose method doesn’t work here and that God is Much.Bigger.Than.Buffet.Lines
-Billy
