Several years ago, I served with a Christian organization that planned and organized a spiritual retreat. Many of my fellow volunteers were from a particular church in the area that was founded and led by a gentleman who was a former addict. Addiction was a chapter in many of the stories of the volunteers that I visited with, and they were joyous and liberal in their praise to the Lord for His work in their lives.
They spoke of thriving on the unity they found in their church – people who had experienced the same struggles as they had, no judgment found among the members, and grace, care, and support on the occasions when old habits came back to haunt them. In other church environments, they’d encountered judgment and felt shame in their failures. One somberly added, “They shoot their wounded.”
Another young lady piped up. “It’s just all about Jesus at our church!” To a person, there was testimony to His rescue from addiction, guilt, and shame as well as deliverance into freedom, joy, and purpose. That same girl added, “Everything else besides Him is just gravy.”
A month or so after the retreat, I happened to drive by the location where that church met. Meetings weren’t on Sundays. They were on Saturdays – on purpose. Saturdays tended to be the nights when folks most often faced the temptation to return to their addictions so Saturday services gave them a refuge from an otherwise potentially difficult evening.
The church was a storefront in a semi-deserted strip mall, and it truly looked like the “no frills” meeting place its members had described. But those people who called that church their home were full of life and love for Jesus and for each other. The building didn’t matter.
It honestly made me wonder – do most of us Christians tend to focus our spiritual diet on the “gravy” of the amenities and comforts of our churches or on the nourishing “meat” of following Jesus and His way of life?
Do we love the beautiful buildings, hot coffee, and programs but shy away from sacrificial service and walking the long road of healing with a struggling saint?
Do we enjoy the company of our cleaned-up brothers and sisters on Sunday mornings but look the other way when they reach out for help on Friday nights?
Do we willingly engage in conversations about the latest sporting events and Amazon purchases but avoid the hard topics that express our true concern and hold our dear ones accountable?
There’s absolutely nothing wrong with meeting in nice buildings, enjoying Christian fellowship, and having casual conversations, but that’s all “gravy,” right? Do we prefer the “gravy” more than the “meat?”
True “meat” is God’s presence, God’s Word, God’s people, and God’s passion – loving and caring for the weak, the weary, the wounded, and the wayward.
Let’s be like that enthusiastic young believer who proclaimed, “It’s just all about Jesus!” Don’t you remember that same enthusiasm the day you gave Jesus your “Yes!”? Let’s submit to the work of God’s Holy Spirit and let Him mature us so that we’re able to love and serve our brothers and sisters – all of them, not just the healthy ones – as Jesus calls us to love and serve them.
Gravy may make us happy, but meat makes us mature.
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Father, I praise You, the God Who’s able to break the chains of my harmful habits. I confess my weakness and thank You for Your new morning mercies. Thank You for the strength to get back up when I stumble. My efforts are empty without Your Spirit empowering me. Thank You for allowing me the privilege of welcoming and helping my weaker brothers and sisters. What a holy obligation to bear with their failings and to restore the struggling in a spirit of gentleness – regardless of the cost to myself. All praise to You – the God Who’s come beside me and redeemed my failures for my good and Your glory. In the beautiful Name of Jesus, amen. (Psalm 6:2, Proverbs 24:16, Zechariah 4:6, Romans 14:1, Romans 15:1, Galatians 6:1)
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Thank you for joining in this week’s Scripture memory challenge as we commit to our hearts and minds Psalm 100. This week, we’re adding verse 3 to last week’s passage of Psalm 100:1-2.
“Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth! Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into His presence with singing! Know that the Lord, He is God! It is He Who made us, and we are His; We are His people, and the sheep of His pasture.” - Psalm 100:1-3 (ESV)
