^Actual sandwich.
A few days ago (as of the time I am writing this, of course, because I cannot know when you are reading this nor the relative timing of your reading to my sandwich making. Are those alfalfa sprouts?) I decided to make a sandwich for lunch. It had been quite some time since I had performed this task. I was rusty.
BREAD. I should preface the meat of this story by letting you know that I am currently (again, at the time I am writing this, well... not at the same time, just generally in this period of my life) reading the book Praise Habit by David Crowder*. If you have not yet read this book, you should, it is delightful. If you have yet read this book, you should again, the second time is at least as delightful. The main message of this book is one of becoming a constant praise to our God. The wording of that last sentence may sound odd, but it is intentional. Crowder* challenges us to turn Praise into our life and to bring the rescue of Jesus with us into everything we do. This is the context in which I decided to make a sandwich.
MAYO. At the outset, I planned a very simple sandwich. But I decided to make my efforts more worthwhile by adding some gravy in the form of lettuce, cheese and mustard. I fully believe that this decision was made based on a larger decision that I made to be more proactive in my life. This proactivity is in the form of me being more purposeful, working harder at life, not being a victim of circumstances, exerting self-control and self-sacrifice, making a better sandwich.
HAM. As I said before, I was rusty at this sandwich-making. I discovered this quickly as I immediately forgot that this process required bread and a knife. This was to be the beginning of a time of mistake-making. The rest of the mistakes are as follows:
-Drop mayo on the table (Eww).
-Fail to find the LARGE lettuce container in the fridge.
-Drop the Kraft American Cheese Single on the table.
-Forget to shake the mustard.
-Proceed to pour mustard-juice all over the bread, paper towel and table.
-Manage to spill pickle juice all over my hand, fridge and floor (Note: this sandwich contained no pickles.)
All of this failed to frustrate me (see MAYO). I found a bit of humor in the situation, actually. I also found an essential truth of life. As I was nearly finished, I was mentally reviewing the mistakes I had made and I came upon the following thought:
"No matter how many times I messed up along the way, no matter how long it takes, I'm still gonna have a sandwich to enjoy when I'm done."
LETTUCE. This sandwich-making escapade had turned into a spiritual growth moment. I realized that this same truth holds true in my attempt at living Praise. The fact is, no matter how many times I mess up along the way, or how long it takes me to learn His lessons, God's plan will still be carried on to completion (Philippians 1:6). This brings the focus off of myself and my mistakes and my depravity and on to God and the good work that He will complete and His desire for me to further His Kingdom, in His Name.
MUSTARD. In order for me to contribute to the Kingdom, I must be willing to put myself in situations where faith is possible. Which situations are these? They are often uncomfortable or awkward social scenarios where I have the opportunity to be an ambassador for the Kingdom in the lives of others. These are things that I naturally avoid because they are outside of my control. These are places that require faith. The book of James instills in me the belief that this faith is more than simple trust. Internally trusting the Truths of God's Word and the Rescue we find in the Life of His Son requires external action. Maybe the faith comes before the action, but maybe not. This duality is why James says that faith without works is dead (2:14-26). Certainly, however, works without faith are equally lifeless. The two must exist together. Mindless action is death. Action-less belief is death. A life of action informed by faith is the Life Christ has for us.
CHEESE. It won't always smell good. Along this Way, as we are going, we will make mistakes. We will drop mayo and cheese on the table, forget what the LARGE lettuce container looks like (seriously, the thing is huge and obvious), forget to properly prepare the mustard and spill pickle juice all over everything. But instead of sitting in our mess and wallowing in our own misery, we should follow the advice of Joel 2:12-13.
"'Yet even now' the Lord says, 'return to me with all your heart - with fasting, weeping, and mourning. Tear your hearts, not just your garments!' (13)Return to the Lord your God, for he is merciful and compassionate, slow to anger and boundless in loyal love - often relenting from calamitous punishment." (NET)
BREAD. So we don't just ignore our mistakes. No, here the Lord says to return with fasting, weeping, and mourning and to rend our hearts. Our mistakes and our intentional sin are to be taken seriously. But our return to Him will require that we move past this point of mourning. Again, I'm not trying to trivialize the mourning for our sin. Our sin grieves the Spirit (Ephesians 4) and should grieve us as well. Godly sorrow is an integral part of our faith. But we should not be crippled by our failures or disabled by our disparity. We have to believe in a God who has more in store. He is making us a sandwich.
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