Sometimes God will set before us two dishes. On one is a charbroiled steak, garlic mashed potatoes, dinner roll with steaming gravy. Upon the other is a single piece of crusty bread, a slab of moldy cheese, and a glass of curdled milk. With one you receive a desert of cherry pie, apple fritters, pecan pie a la mode; the other leaves you with an empty stomach and famished muscles.
Every part of us desires the dinner of elegance, and it comes in many shapes and sizes. A wealthy home with a high-paying job, a luxurious sex life even though you aren't married, the pleasure of being 'high' or drunk, even something as simple as trying to live life unhindered. Yet Jesus shows us this plate and says, "See this? Do you see the steak, the potatoes, the roll and gravy? I know it's appetizing. But you have to give it up. You have to feed it to the dog. If you are going to follow me, you must take the second platter: it is the platter I have taken." He says, "If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have trasure in heaven: and come and follow me."
Jesus' platter is humility, selflessness, love. It is loving everyone no matter what, and sharing your life with others. It is getting rid of short-term pleasure, trading it in for long-term satisfaction. It is being content with the lot God gives you, and not being jealous of everyone else's share. It is fighting off all the temptations and seductions of a world up in arms against God, and not sugar-coating the battle (it won't be easy; it's hard, rough, and painful). But Jesus says, "This is MY way, THE way. It's the route I've taken." We follow Jesus no more than when we truly become like him.
Every part of us desires the dinner of elegance, and it comes in many shapes and sizes. A wealthy home with a high-paying job, a luxurious sex life even though you aren't married, the pleasure of being 'high' or drunk, even something as simple as trying to live life unhindered. Yet Jesus shows us this plate and says, "See this? Do you see the steak, the potatoes, the roll and gravy? I know it's appetizing. But you have to give it up. You have to feed it to the dog. If you are going to follow me, you must take the second platter: it is the platter I have taken." He says, "If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have trasure in heaven: and come and follow me."
Jesus' platter is humility, selflessness, love. It is loving everyone no matter what, and sharing your life with others. It is getting rid of short-term pleasure, trading it in for long-term satisfaction. It is being content with the lot God gives you, and not being jealous of everyone else's share. It is fighting off all the temptations and seductions of a world up in arms against God, and not sugar-coating the battle (it won't be easy; it's hard, rough, and painful). But Jesus says, "This is MY way, THE way. It's the route I've taken." We follow Jesus no more than when we truly become like him.
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