John Denver has always been a man of tremendous insight, because as you know - - "Sunshine, on my shoulder...well...it really does makes me happy!"
Especially after a winter like we just had, I don't mind it a bit if God decides to crank up the thermostat outside to...85...or even 95...that would make me really happy. I have always been someone who likes to sweat in the hot sun. My dad and I couldn't wait for the hot & muggy July & August days of summer. Sometimes when it was really humid, we would climb up into the garage attic, sit on the rafters surrounded by pink fiberglass insulation, and sweat. He convinced me that you actually got a much better sweat up in the attic than you could ever get from the high priced sauna down at the local fitness center. As we sat there, large beads of salty water would roll off our foreheads and arms and drip, drip, drip onto the cement floor down below. My dad told me that spending a good 20 minutes up in the rafters had to burn off at least 5 pounds of fat. Surprisingly, I really enjoyed my dad's honyak sauna. Another reason I like the summertime heat is because the blazing sun always makes cold drinks taste better. There is nothing like the experience of playing hours of basketball on hot black asphalt, running to our large red Coleman cooler, reaching my hand deep down in the icy water, and grabbing a long neck bottle of the "real thing" ... ice cold Coca-Cola. Ain't nothing like the "real thing." But sometimes, what you think is the "real thing" turns out only to be a poor substitute. On one particularly hot day, I ran inside to get something cool to drink from the fridge. There hidden in the back, was a half-full, 2 liter bottle of Coke. I am not sure how long it was in there, but I decided to try it anyway. I poured some of the brown liquid into a glass and immediately I knew something was wrong...no fizz! I tried to gulp it down...but I couldn't, it wasn't the same... it wasn't the "real thing!" My dad noticed the sorrowful look on my face after I took a sip and said, "Here, try this, my drink has a lot of fizz." I looked at what he was drinking and then asked him, "Schweppes, what kind of drink is that?" He said "Tonic water." I gave it a try....yuck! It was all fizz, no substance! That definitely was not the "real thing." So what exactly makes something the "real thing"? I thought long and hard on this. I used all kind of soda pop algorithms to figure the answer out, and here is my conclusion: You need both "fizz" and "substance." Have you ever been to a church with only fizz? Have you ever met a Christian that does all he or she can to avoid having any fizz whatsoever? You need both! Jesus came to bring us abundant life: Full of joy, and love and fulfillment. As one writer said, "a true Christian is a man fully alive!" In other words, true Christians must have fizz. But fizz isn't enough. Church isn't just about singing, or hearing exciting testimonies, or trying to produce edgy happening events run by the good looking smiling people who constantly tell you, "God is good, all the time!" Christianity also needs to have substance: Jesus, the Son of God himself, living in your life. When he is in your life there will be life. Substance does not mean reading the bible in a monotone hush, it does not mean you must walk around with somber looks of solemn boredom. Substance isn't suffering for suffering 's sake! Substance is Christ. This Sunday we are going to be reading about the most famous miracle of Jesus' career: the feeding of the 5000. Wow, could you imagine watching Jesus satisfy the hunger of more than 5000 people with only 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish? Now that my friends, is some amazing fizz! But as it says in John's account in 6:26, the feeding happened for a purpose, it was meant to be a sign. A sign points you to the real thing, it is not the real thing itself! Sadly, most people who came to Jesus that day only wanted the fizz: "We want to see more miracles, give us some more bread, heal me, put on a more grand fireworks display!" But the fizz is meant to serve the substance, that is what really matters. Jesus is the "real thing." Enjoying worship music is a good thing, but it is not the "real thing." Listening to a good speaker preach is a good thing, but it is not the "real thing." Having a prayer service where people are healed, or a powerful testimony is shared is a good thing, but don't just come for that, Jesus is the "real thing." True connection with Jesus happens when you respond to the promises of his word by active faith. "Believe" what he says and then "step out" in obedience and live as if they are true! And when you do, you will actually taste the substance of Jesus' life because His Spirit will abide in your soul - - and you will start displaying joyful, vibrant fizz as the Spirit produces His fruit in your life. Now, that my dear reader, is the "real thing!" Do you have both? Excuse me for now, I see that the sun is out! And you know what that means? The garage attic is ready for some good old-fashioned sweating!
1 Comment
jill
5/31/2014 12:08:10 am
I love hot weather too. I always reach for a a tall glass of ice cold fresh brewed iced tea. And a book, of course. Have you read: The Liberator, one WWII soldier's 500-day odyssey from the beaches of Sicily to the gates of Dachau? It's pretty good so far. Good insight in this post. It is easy to lose "fizz" in the summer.
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