Never Second-Class Again
One of the highlights of our three year stay in Pennsylvania was the $0.19 turkeys that Becky purchased on a post-Thanksgiving clearance sale. For a poor and growing seminary family, those three turkeys were too good of a deal to pass up and we were grateful to have the meat in the freezer. Come to think of it, as I look back at our 23 years together, I remember several lean years looking forward to the clearance specials on turkeys. In a way, that has made turkeys a second-class meat for us. Turkey is generally not our first pick of meat to eat, but we enjoy it because it always seems to go on sale.
I was talking about this the other night with a couple other guys and guess what Becky roasted the very next day for our annual Thanksgiving dinner at church? Turkey! So, I was not overly excited about turkey because, as you know, it is second-class. But then it came time to carve the turkey and put it in a crock pot for Sunday and there it was. The warm turkey smelled wonderful. It smelled too good to pass up. And not only did it smell wonderful, it tasted wonderful too, the few pieces that I was able to sneak.
And this is the point. Turkey might sometimes seem like a second-class meat, but when the fresh roasted skin glistens before my eyes and the whole house smells of its aroma and it is in my hands and it is melting in my mouth, there is nothing else to do but to enjoy.
The same is true with the things of God. Many consider things like worship, prayer, the word of God, and eternal life to be second-class. Sure, they are nice, but let us be honest. Most people would rather spend their precious limited time pursuing earthly pleasures like money, cars, real estate, work, and entertainment. There is a fix for this. Put away the earthly toys for a moment and experience the presence of the Almighty God. Look into the word of God at His goodness (Psalm 27:13; 36:9; 119:18). Listen to the love that pours from Jesus’ lips (Luke 11:28; Romans 10:17). Taste the total presence of the Lord (Psalm 34:8; 119:103; John 7:37; 1 Peter 2:3). Smell the sweet-smelling savor of the good news (2 Corinthians 2:15; Ephesians 5:1-2).
When the other meats are put away and the Thanksgiving turkey is served up on your plate, enjoy the experience for the weekend. It won’t be long before turkey is second-class again. But when you want a spiritual meal that you can enjoy forever, open up to Jesus with your eyes, ears, mouth, and nose and start enjoying a relationship that will last forever. When you experience Jesus, the things of God will never be second-class again.
“That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life.” 1 John 1:1