[231 words]
I don’t like pickles. Any pickles, all pickles. I don’t like sour pickles, sweet pickles, dill pickles, hot pickles…I don’t like pickles. Every time I order a hamburger, I say, “no pickles,” because I don’t like pickles!
However, I am given pickles often. Sometimes I send them back and say “I ordered NO pickles.” Most of the time I just pick the pickles off. Sometimes the people serving me don’t know any better or it would be embarrassing to them. So I just eat the pickles. But I don’t like pickles.
But, what if Patsy, who knows me so well—Patsy, who knows I don’t like pickles—serves me pickles? Well, then it is a different sort of thing. It’s not about pickles then, is it? It’s about love. She knows what I like but doesn’t care. BIG PROBLEM!
I believe God is always picking pickles off of our offering. We are weak and ignorant. When we offer our worship and service, it is often less than it could be. But what if we know what He wants—singing, male leadership, etc.—but we don’t care? We give Him what we want. Now we have a BIG PROBLEM.
Jesus said, “If you love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15).
P.S. Patsy has never served me pickles. She loves me and spoils me. I was just making a point.
Paul Shero
San Angelo, TX
BulletinDigest.com