My youngest turned 21 years old two months ago. I searched the internet and social media to find a suitable restaurant to be the venue for our celebration. The chosen eatery had to have a huge variety: juicy steak, gourmet burgers, pizza, pasta, AND sushi. It was not an easy task to find a place being an expert on all of these mentioned. With a small budget, I also wanted us all to like and eat what we pay for. After all, this is not just another birthday celebration.
Just as you won’t find figs and grapes on a thorn tree (Luke 6:44), it is almost impossible to find tasty sushi at a steakhouse, but I found a spot which inherits its cuisine from their Portuguese forefathers with a full a la carte menu where we could dine out – a place which would tingle all our taste buds. Then the food will not only nourish our bodies, but also satisfy our different tastes and palates, and we would leave the table with a feeling of contentment.
Young or old, strong or weak, all of us have one thing in common - we all NEED food. From the moment we are born, until our last breath, we need to eat to nourish our bodies. Some of us need less and some need more. Our metabolisms –the process by which our bodies convert what we eat and drink into energy – differs from person to person. One body digests food faster than the other. So is it with the Word of God.
Jesus knew how important it was to distinguish between the spiritual food we feed the young and the mature. We can see this in John 21: 15-18 where Simon Peter’s love was tested. Jesus asked him, not once, but three times, to feed His LAMBS, take care of His SHEEP, and to feed His SHEEP.
Nurturing and feeding our infants and younger ‘lambs’ is a vital experience during the first years of life. Knowing what food is effective or not, will be beneficial to the child later in life.
It is still the same potato and banana, but it is mashed or blended in a smoothie. Timing is everything. The food should be digested. I think it is sometimes important to sugar-coat a message. There may be method in the madness. Don’t we sometimes candy-coat the raisins for our children? It is not because we are feeling creative and innovative, but because it is and will be beneficial to them.
I remember how my mom treated us when we were younger. Whenever we visited her on a weekend, she would bake our favorite rusks and a chocolate cake. It was a caring deed which did not go unnoticed – a welcome message to her children. I am sure that God, as our Parent, understands this type of love and care more than anyone else.
When we all have our favorite food and restaurant, why then are we so quick to judge someone who has a favorite way/type of worship and a favorite church to attend? Each of us are on a different journey? I grew up in a Reformed Church, solemn and reverent. In another season of my life, I joined a charismatic church. Set in my ways, it was a shock to the system, but I loosened up in Children’s church. I went to church with my boys at first. It was to make them comfortable, but in fact, God knew: “She is an adult, but she is a spiritual baby”. Waving hands and dancing became my favorite and only way of worship – I just had to taste it. Someone else may think: THIS is not for me. And that’s okay. We all have the same aim: to get nourished, to feel satisfied, to grow, and to serve the same food that replenish and revive our souls.
Like restaurants, there are many different churches, and you are allowed to choose your church. Here are a few pointers:
· Stay where you are if you have a lousy reason for leaving, or you have decided never to show your face back there again - it was too busy, or the waiter was not dressed appropriately. Stay, otherwise you will be hopping from one church to another.
· Don’t focus on what the church has to offer – shopping for food is a consumer activity, and the church is not a product or a service. Make a Christ-centered decision.
· Pray and use discernment – the list of issues to take into consideration: worship style, denomination, leadership and other structures.
· No church is perfect – the temptation to look for a perfect church is not new. Any church has imperfections, of which one of them is you.
· Choose a church ‘to give’, not just ‘to get’. Learn from the waiters. Shift your focus to being a servant, instead of being served.
Whatever church you are planted in, copy our Gardener to be happy, healthy and growing:
1. Give the tree the best start –where will a young one flourish?
2. Protect the tree – boost new or established trees health with nutrients (sometimes you need a supplement - a conference, a course, or a camp)
3. Give them food and drink – as water is essential to ensure plant survival, mature trees also need enough water to tolerate prolonged stress conditions – make sure the diet is appropriate, Palm trees won't survive on rose feed, just as chihuahuas will not thrive on rottweiler pellets.
4. Give them regular care – Check the bark, the leaves, and the branches. Are there any signs of declining health? (Going to church once a week to grow, is like going to the gym only once per week and then you wonder why you are still not getting into shape)
5. Give them the freedom to grow – sometimes the best way to care for a tree as it ages, is to leave it alone to grow in its space.
Churches are not hotels for the hypocrites and the holy, they are hospitals for the sick. We eat there for immunity - food that assists in keeping us healthy or to cure us. Whether it is solid food, or soup, as long as it is a warm, soothing remedy.
Keep in mind that we are dealing with meat lovers, with the vegans, the vegetarians, those who thrive on a gluten-free diet, and the ones who want it hot and spicy.
Feed them their daily bread…brown, white, toasted, rye, or ciabatta. Just feed them.
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