When I was in high school, I had a youth group leader (Named Jon Arvin) who shared a sermon about "Keeping your Fork" The concept is simple, after a nice healthy dinner, someone may say to you "Keep your Fork! Dessert is on the way!" It's an awesome metaphor to help Christians understand the reward in heaven! If we're good Christians, and eat a healthy well balance diet of prayer, study and service we'll get rewarded with "dessert" or Heaven!
At least that's what my 16-year-old self-took from that sermon. This weekend, while sharing that story with a new friend, I had an epiphany! What if that's not the message that my youth leader was trying to get across at all!!! What if I mis-interpreted the whole thing entirely! After a few minutes, I was changing the metaphor in my head! You see what I have been realizing lately is that God wants us to have dessert, and we do not have to do ANYTHING to get to the dessert! What does that mean? Even if I don't study the best, pray the hardest, and serve the most... I still get dessert!
I am picturing my children with their Nana! Nana (my bonus mom) makes the BEST BROWNIES ever! When we go to my parents for dinner, Nana typically has a pan of brownies prepared! She's often even made an extra pan to send home with us when dinner is over! The boys (my son's) know that Nana is going to give them brownies no matter what! They can depend on her to share her sweet chocolate, heavenly treats even if they don't eat all their veggies or finish their dinner! They know that she's already prepared them ahead of time! Nana doesn't care what happens at dinner, she LOVES these boys and wants to shower them with the surgery blessings! She wants them to know she loves them even if dinner doesn't go so well! She wants them to enjoy brownies during our visit, and in the future, which is why she prepares 2 treys ahead of time!
In the same way our Lord's unconditional love and grace isn't given as a reward! It's given because he LOVES us so much, he wants to bless us and is there for us regardless of how much we study, pray or serve! He wants us to enjoy dessert with him presently in our current lives in our current situations! He wants us also to know that he's prepared a place for us to look forward to and enjoy later!
The best part about Nana's brownies, is that the boys would do anything for their Nana! Not because they're expecting brownies, but because they love her, just as much as she loves them! Out of LOVE they eat their veggies first and will try foods they'd never try unless she asked! They will help her (and pap-pap) anytime they ask! They do not expect brownies in return, they do it out of the LOVE they have been given and shown from their grandparents!
Likewise, we as Christians serve, pray, study and LOVE more, because we realize how unconditionally loved we are by our Lord! We do these things not out of obligation, but because we LOVE our LORD! We pray and study, to spend time with him, and learn more about his love! We serve and share, because we want others to know it's not about the reward, it's about the LOVE! The love that we get RIGHT now! The LOVE that has always been there since the day we were created and will never end! The love that feels like getting to eat dessert first!
So, KEEP your fork but remember its ok to eat dessert first sometimes! Recognize and enjoy the love and blessing that the LORD is offering you presently! Enjoy and recognize that the LOVE is there even when it feels like the world is falling apart! Realize that the love doesn't stop, because of good or bad choices we make. Enjoy the HOPE that there is always dessert, even when it feels like you have a huge plate of asparagus in front of you! (ps. I love asparagus)! Realize that the part of dinner you're not so crazy about may be nourishing your soul, to prepare you for next pan of brownies! So always KEEP your FORK, because the best is yet to come...But go ahead and eat a Nana brownie today!!
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