Spice It Up

"You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot"- Matthew 5:13 (NIV).

My husband and I went out to eat at our favorite Vietnamese restaurant last night, known for their delicious Pho, a flavorful soup with vegetables and noodles. I’d like to have seen my face when I took that first bite; it was terrible. The soup had no flavor. It was warm water with under-cooked vegetables. I asked them what had changed in their Pho recipe. It seems they left the spices out of the soup, saying some customers didn't like the flavorful seasoning as much as others did, so they were trying to take a middle-of-the-road-flavor stance. Yuck! That was no middle-of-the-road-flavor stance; that was a no-flavor stance. I couldn't eat mine, regardless of the amount of soy sauce I added; my husband, due to hunger, tried the hardest, but only got a cup of his soup eaten. Our lives, like the Pho soup, are no longer good if there is no flavor. It's a wasted life, like my wasted dinner, to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. Sprinkling God into our life gives flavor; then the hungry are fed. Our needs are met, as well as those who transition in and out of our daily life. They take some of our seasoning we sprinkled, with them, and hopefully sprinkle it into the lives of others they meet farther down the road they travel. Jesus does not want us to have a middle-of-the road stance with His flavoring. A no-flavor life is a no-Christ life, in which, people will walk away as hungry as you are...and people can die of hunger. Spice up your life and those around you. Sprinkle a little Jesus and be filled.   

Be Happy

"I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live"- Ecclesiastes 3:12 (NIV).

I had a 9th grade student, years ago, who always had a smile on her face. Her name was Julia. You would think her smile was because she came from an affluent family, was a stunningly beautiful girl, and, to top it off, was one of the most gifted students I've ever taught. Her smile was always radiant and present, each and every morning. Yet, what wasn't visible, was that she had reasons to not smile: other girls were jealousy cruel to her, her boyfriend became so controlling that she had to break up with him, and then she broke her back playing soccer. Under her clothing, she wore her brace for the remainder of the school year. I was the Academic Team coach; Julia was my team captain and star player. I can remember being at competitions and she would lie down on the floor between rounds to relieve her back pain. She would lie there smiling, strategizing about the next team we were competing against. I'll never forget Julia's smile. Just the mention of her name, brings back the image of her smiling face. It makes me ponder what image I will leave behind. Will it be one of anxiousness, complaining, fear, sorrow, defeatism, or anger? Which appears the most Christ-centered? Yes, Julia was a Christian and she shared her faith and happiness, with me and others, through her smiles.

Sewing Lesson

"As the body without the Spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead"- James 2:26 (NIV).

I don't use my sewing machine. I do hem garments, replace buttons, and such by hand, but, my sewing machine, designed to create garments, sits in the floor of our guest room...lifeless; except for the fact that it is gathering dust and taking up space. My lifeless sewing machine could be an analogy of a Christian who has faith, but there are no works coming from that faith; it's nice to know it's there, in case I ever need it, but that sewing machine should be cranking out new shirts, pants, dresses, etc; just as my faith should be producing works. James says, "But someone will say, "Show me your faith [sewing machine] without deeds [garments], and I will show you my faith [sewing machine] by my deeds [garments]" (2:18b). When my life is over, will people remember me for having a sewing machine or by wearing the garments created by my sewing machine? Unused faith, like an unused sewing machine, is dead without the deeds that should spring forth. We don't want our faith to be gathering dust and taking up space.