Barneyisfat

I held a birthday dinner in my own honor. It was important to me to gather my friends together and celebrate my birth. My parents, of course, had to foot the bill. I invited six of my closest friends to the nicest steak restaurant in the area. I had made it quite clear that I would be paying (with my parent's credit card.) My friends, however, had missed that little detail. I declared that I would be eating the ribeye and asked my friends what they would be getting. Rachel wanted a salad, Ricky was going to get french fries, and Adam was going to order a water. I was so upset at them - I had told them to get whatever they wanted and explained that I would be paying for it. Maybe they hadn't believed me or maybe they didn't want to be a financial bother; but either way I had to explain that the dinner was my parent's gift to me. I had to elaborate on the point that I would be offended if they ordered anything less than steak.

Sometimes we fail to remember that Christ has paid the eternal price and that we have nothing to offer on our own. Too many Christians, failing to understand that God offers the steak of a lifetime, end up eating the french fries and water of their own efforts. I wonder if God is as offended as I was.

(We all enjoyed our steak!)

I had to sit through a two hour lecture on why mainline denominations such as the United Methodist Church were failing to uphold the gospel. I was so offended, not because the professor had dissed my denomenation, but because of his ignorance. The United Methodist Church daily holds up the gospel around the world. In my church in Toccoa, there is a woman who every week fills the communion bowl with water so that it is ready in case someone comes forward to be baptized. We are a church that upholds the gospel message and is ready and prepared at all times.