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Not long ago I went to Bob Evans and ordered a Belgium Waffle. When it came I was surprised at how little it was. You used to get a Belgium Waffle and it covered the whole plate--even lapped over it a little. But this waffle was the size of a big saucer. You've probably noticed as I have how so many food items have gotten smaller. You buy a bag of potato chips and it looks like a nice size bag, but when you open it--poof--all this air comes out; they have filled it with air to make it look bigger than it is. And so many things are packaged that way today. They want you to think you're getting more than you actually are.
That made me think about the church. (No, not preachers with hot air.) I wondered if we in the church are offering people more than we actually deliver. Do we preach a gospel that promises that people with faith will always be happy and peaceful? Well, it isn't so. Faith does not ward off troubles and suffering and gloom. Bad things happen to good people. And good things happen to bad people. And arbitrary accidents happen to everyone. Do we 'package' the Biblical message in such a way as to make it seem more than it is?
Jesus said: Peace I leave with you--my peace. Not the peace that the world gives. That's it. There is a difference between the peace that the world gives (which everyone is looking for) and the peace that Christ gives. Christ's peace is a deeper peace. More profound.
It is there (and real) even when you don't feel peaceful. Even when you're depressed. Even when you are an emotional wreck. Christ's peace is a reality, not a feeling. It is a status, a relationship, a truth, a foundational reality. Christ's peace is not full of empty air. It is substantive. Feelings are fleeting. They are like birds that flit from tree to tree. But God's peace is unchanging; solid; like a rock. And beyond understanding or explanation. So, I will stop.
The Belgium Waffle was smaller than I expected,
but it was good.
Well, anything with syrup on it is good.
