Grills are designed to experience fire. They are crafted in such a way, that when placed under intense heat, they are able to remain perfectly intact and continue to function as they were designed to do. In essence, a grill is nothing more than a vessel used to contain fire for the purpose of creating something else. By now, you’re probably picturing a rack of ribs glistening with a caramelized glaze from a barbeque sauce. It doesn’t take much imagination to realize that when grilling is done right, it produces something incredibly good. When Paul wrote to the Philippians, he did so from the context of a man who knew of suffering (for insight into the magnitude of his suffering see 2 Corinthians 11:22-33). For him to say, “You not only get to believe in Christ, but you get to suffer for him” is nothing short of profound. Paul’s understanding of himself was one of a vessel being used for whatever purposes that the Lord had intended. Unlike the picture of a brand new grill being proudly put on display on my porch for the world to see that, “Hey, that is an awesome grill,” Paul’s idea of being “put on display” was likened to a bloody and torturous death walk toward crucifixion (2 Corinthians 2:14). For most of us, we want to avoid suffering at all cost and when suffering comes, we discover that we are not very good stewards of it. Yet, the secret that Paul understood is that suffering produces something greater from our lives. What good would our lives be if we only had the appearance of our beauty in Christ and never produced anything of significance for His glory? Paul in all of his suffering would not have traded it for the results it yielded. God has given us the capacity to endure fire. He has given us what is necessary to withstand great amounts of heat. It is only when we come to that place in our lives where we willingly allow ourselves to be used----to be spilled, splattered, and stained upon----where we will be able to produce sustenance for others, from our lives! I am not trying to minimize the difficulty that many go through in suffering and reduce it to a simple illustration saying, “We should enjoy the experience.” I cannot imagine the magnitude of suffering that many of my brothers and sisters in Christ have had to endure; nor do I desire to face what many of them have faced. I am however, attempting to offer the hope of knowing, that in our suffering, something significant will come from our lives. The fire that we endure is not in vain and the One who ignites the fire has a definite purpose in doing so. God does create something glorious from fires of suffering. Regardless of what we feel Christ has called us to do for His glory, suffering will be in the plan. It is a necessary function for those who desire more than spending their lives sitting on the porch of Christianity. So the next time you gather around the backyard BBQ and see that steak, chicken, or ribs hovering over the red hot coals, let it bring joy to your heart, knowing that when the fire of suffering is burning within us, we will produce something beautiful that others can feast upon.
Friday, May 23, 2014
Of Grills, BBQ, and Suffering
I recently
received an early birthday gift from my wife. After spending two and a half
hours assembling it, I am the proud owner of a combination gas and charcoal
grill. It currently sits unblemished on my front porch awaiting the day when I
will either ignite the propane gas to make a flame or start a fire using wood
and charcoal. Until that day (and I assure you it will be much sooner than
later), it remains absolutely useless. But even if I decided to fire it up, the
flames would serve no purpose if I did not have anything to place upon the
grill. Although there is nothing deep or philosophical in realizing that a
grill is useless unless one uses it as it was intended to function, the
illustration speaks significantly to the area of the purpose of suffering in
the Christian life. Paul said in Philippians 1:29, “For it has been granted
to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but also to suffer
for him.” As believers in Christ, we are more than willing to believe
in him; however, we seldom desire to suffer for him. Much like
the grill that sits on my porch, we want the beauty of being in Christ, being
put proudly on display for His glory. I am not looking forward to the spills
and splatters that will begin to mar the appearance of my grill once I put it
to full use. I want it to stay “nice” and kept clean----and it will remain
perfectly spotless if I refrain from doing one thing: starting a fire. Yet,
without the fire, what good is the grill?
Grills are designed to experience fire. They are crafted in such a way, that when placed under intense heat, they are able to remain perfectly intact and continue to function as they were designed to do. In essence, a grill is nothing more than a vessel used to contain fire for the purpose of creating something else. By now, you’re probably picturing a rack of ribs glistening with a caramelized glaze from a barbeque sauce. It doesn’t take much imagination to realize that when grilling is done right, it produces something incredibly good. When Paul wrote to the Philippians, he did so from the context of a man who knew of suffering (for insight into the magnitude of his suffering see 2 Corinthians 11:22-33). For him to say, “You not only get to believe in Christ, but you get to suffer for him” is nothing short of profound. Paul’s understanding of himself was one of a vessel being used for whatever purposes that the Lord had intended. Unlike the picture of a brand new grill being proudly put on display on my porch for the world to see that, “Hey, that is an awesome grill,” Paul’s idea of being “put on display” was likened to a bloody and torturous death walk toward crucifixion (2 Corinthians 2:14). For most of us, we want to avoid suffering at all cost and when suffering comes, we discover that we are not very good stewards of it. Yet, the secret that Paul understood is that suffering produces something greater from our lives. What good would our lives be if we only had the appearance of our beauty in Christ and never produced anything of significance for His glory? Paul in all of his suffering would not have traded it for the results it yielded. God has given us the capacity to endure fire. He has given us what is necessary to withstand great amounts of heat. It is only when we come to that place in our lives where we willingly allow ourselves to be used----to be spilled, splattered, and stained upon----where we will be able to produce sustenance for others, from our lives! I am not trying to minimize the difficulty that many go through in suffering and reduce it to a simple illustration saying, “We should enjoy the experience.” I cannot imagine the magnitude of suffering that many of my brothers and sisters in Christ have had to endure; nor do I desire to face what many of them have faced. I am however, attempting to offer the hope of knowing, that in our suffering, something significant will come from our lives. The fire that we endure is not in vain and the One who ignites the fire has a definite purpose in doing so. God does create something glorious from fires of suffering. Regardless of what we feel Christ has called us to do for His glory, suffering will be in the plan. It is a necessary function for those who desire more than spending their lives sitting on the porch of Christianity. So the next time you gather around the backyard BBQ and see that steak, chicken, or ribs hovering over the red hot coals, let it bring joy to your heart, knowing that when the fire of suffering is burning within us, we will produce something beautiful that others can feast upon.
Grills are designed to experience fire. They are crafted in such a way, that when placed under intense heat, they are able to remain perfectly intact and continue to function as they were designed to do. In essence, a grill is nothing more than a vessel used to contain fire for the purpose of creating something else. By now, you’re probably picturing a rack of ribs glistening with a caramelized glaze from a barbeque sauce. It doesn’t take much imagination to realize that when grilling is done right, it produces something incredibly good. When Paul wrote to the Philippians, he did so from the context of a man who knew of suffering (for insight into the magnitude of his suffering see 2 Corinthians 11:22-33). For him to say, “You not only get to believe in Christ, but you get to suffer for him” is nothing short of profound. Paul’s understanding of himself was one of a vessel being used for whatever purposes that the Lord had intended. Unlike the picture of a brand new grill being proudly put on display on my porch for the world to see that, “Hey, that is an awesome grill,” Paul’s idea of being “put on display” was likened to a bloody and torturous death walk toward crucifixion (2 Corinthians 2:14). For most of us, we want to avoid suffering at all cost and when suffering comes, we discover that we are not very good stewards of it. Yet, the secret that Paul understood is that suffering produces something greater from our lives. What good would our lives be if we only had the appearance of our beauty in Christ and never produced anything of significance for His glory? Paul in all of his suffering would not have traded it for the results it yielded. God has given us the capacity to endure fire. He has given us what is necessary to withstand great amounts of heat. It is only when we come to that place in our lives where we willingly allow ourselves to be used----to be spilled, splattered, and stained upon----where we will be able to produce sustenance for others, from our lives! I am not trying to minimize the difficulty that many go through in suffering and reduce it to a simple illustration saying, “We should enjoy the experience.” I cannot imagine the magnitude of suffering that many of my brothers and sisters in Christ have had to endure; nor do I desire to face what many of them have faced. I am however, attempting to offer the hope of knowing, that in our suffering, something significant will come from our lives. The fire that we endure is not in vain and the One who ignites the fire has a definite purpose in doing so. God does create something glorious from fires of suffering. Regardless of what we feel Christ has called us to do for His glory, suffering will be in the plan. It is a necessary function for those who desire more than spending their lives sitting on the porch of Christianity. So the next time you gather around the backyard BBQ and see that steak, chicken, or ribs hovering over the red hot coals, let it bring joy to your heart, knowing that when the fire of suffering is burning within us, we will produce something beautiful that others can feast upon.
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