I have a personal favorite restaurant on the other side of town. It is a beautiful place and the environment is divine. The first meal i had there, it was as though the chef just sliced a piece of heaven and placed it on my plate. I got hooked on that dish; so much that on subsequent occasions it almost did not occur to me that they could have other dishes.
Every time i went to that restaurant it was law that i indulge in this dish whether rain or sunshine. I no longer had to verbalize my intention or even get a menu; as long as i stepped foot in that place it was a given that i'll have my usual. Foolish as it may seem, i refused to have it any other way_for years. The flip side though is that with time, i had neither anticipation nor expectation about my routine trip to the restaurant. I'd been around long enough to know all about the restaurant better than i knew the back of my hand - or so i thought.
From one random social interaction, it dawned on me: what if? What if the restaurant had other options that were just as good or even better than this one dish? What about the rest of the menu? What if the menu changed with changes in season? What if some day the restaurant was offering discounts on other dishes just because? What if there was more that i did not even bother to reach out for? Because surely if they make one dish this good, they have to have other dishes of the same or better caliber.
Oftentimes, humanity tends to display this i'll have my usual mentality in facets of life other than the restaurant or bar. In this episode i want to look at it from a church/Christian-life perspective. Mainly because i've been there and bought a T-shirt too while at it.
I've chatted with one too many believers who confess that this "church thing" is not exactly working for them. The last time they ever encountered a supernatural move was in 1962 when they were still a new vessel in the church. Now church is but a religious ritual. Though they have been at it a couple-a-years now they still don't get to testify like that other brother or sister or family that keeps rolling testimonies one Sunday after another. Believe you me this is so real because like i said before, i have walked every inch of the exact same path before and it can be a very frustrating place to be in.
As was the case with my restaurant experience...Could it be that you have cocooned yourself as a believer, to the one thing that attracted you to church in the first place; and did not bother to check out what else was available on the menu? Could it be that church going became your usual: somehow you just can't have an expectation and anticipation for any new flavors and recipes the Chief Chef is doing in that season? Could it be that you go to church because it is your usual hang out place on a Sunday and you would feel guilty if you skipped one meeting (though literally your spirit has skipped every other meeting since a-couple-a-years back)? Could it be that you have left your first love because it has all been condensed into a usual and the spirit of familiarity is throwing a party on you. Again i say, could it be that church has become your usual and you have become a regular at the place for the sake of it?
My whole point in this; to challenge somebody to not make church the usual. Make up your mind to experience the fullness of God's menu for you in EVERY area of your life. I know with no shadow of turning that He has so designed the menu for us in such a way as to place within our reach ALL THINGS which pertain to life and godliness. His promise is to perfect that which concerns you and me: whether health, finances, marriage, relations, even your walk with Him, He's got it. He longs that we prosper and be in health, even as our souls prosper. His plans for us are to give us a future and hope; to bring us to a marvelous expected end. Determine today, to live a life exceeding abundantly above what you can think or imagine; because that is His area of specialty-to perform for you that which is impossible with man.
Develop a desire, a hunger, an anticipation for what God, the Chief Chef, has on the menu for you in that season. He is always doing a new thing in a believer's life and for that reason we move from one level of glory to another dimension of glory with every passing moment. His plan is that our lives shine brighter and brighter unto the perfect day. Refuse to come to church and sit under open heavens and yet go back home the same! Refuse to take from the (wo)man of God the same measure that you took back in 1962 when you were yet a baby in the Lord. Grab what is yours by force_and that can only be jump started when you have a hunger and great desire for it. After all, expectation is the mother of manifestation. Be intentional about what you are taking and be unapologetic about going for it violent and in full force. Take your rightful position in the kingdom. You are a king and a priest before the CEO of the universe, the uncreated Creator who is Lord of all.
Remember: just because you choose to stick to one same 'ole dish does not mean that there is nothing else on the menu. And if your neighbor's dish looks more appealing than yours, no need to be jealous, the same is still available for you because there's plenty plus where that came from. The Good news is that at God's restaurant, everything has been GIVEN FREELY, you only have to show up and place an order. Only you have to be born again to access the full menu. Period.
For the sake of y'all curious brethren...i still go to the same restaurant and i have resolved to try out EVERY dish on the menu #justalittleconfessionhere: still thinking about the caviar though #i can't.
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