Dig In...

I went to Texas Roadhouse the other day. As always, it was amazing. My wife ordered cheddar and bacon on her baked potato. This isn’t unusual, but for some reason it stuck out to me this time. It occurred to me that they could probably put cheddar and bacon on my steak. What a novel idea! I asked my waiter, and after chuckling to himself he told me he could probably facilitate my little experiment. So after a short wait I was presented with an 11oz Sirloin, cooked medium, topped with a thick slice of cheddar and sprinkled with chopped up bits of bacon. It was fantastic. As a matter of fact, just writing this makes me want to go back and experience this wonderful conglomeration all over again. I would assume reading this would provoke a similar feeling in you as well. And that is my point.

On a weekly basis, we are presented with a snapshot of wonderful insights regarding the Bible. These snapshots are not meant to sustain us, but rather they are meant to motivate us to experience the Bible for ourselves. However many of us (myself included) listen to teaching at our church and feel satisfied. We feel at ease, trusting that whoever presented us with their experiences has done their due diligence. We are comfortable relying on their experience in place of our own. If this response were consistent, it would respond to my story in the following manner:

“I like steak. I like hearing stories about steak. This story about steak was so good that I don’t think I’ll need to hear another one for quite some time. I don’t need to eat any steak for myself. I trust that this is an accurate representation of what it would be like if I ate steak, and I am satisfied with my knowledge of that hypothetical situation.”

I doubt many of us have this type of response to my story. Most of us are probably fantasizing about the next time we can get a good steak. That should be our response to good teaching or preaching. When we hear what God has shown someone from His word, we should salivate, eager for our next chance to dive into its pages for ourselves.

There is a table that is always set before us. The food on it is amazing, and sustaining. However, it is our choice. We can be satisfied with the experiences of those dining around us, or we can dig in for ourselves.

-Ryan Lytton