This is just funny! I had to chuckle to myself for a few minutes over this one! It gave me a good laugh as I love jokes that have a play on words. However, I think we can pick a deeper meaning out of this one.
Here it is, the purpose of these pieces of meat is to be eaten. Their sole purpose in life is to serve the hunger needs of humans. Their service will mean an end to their lives. Despite knowing their lives are not their own, they set conditions on how they will serve the needs of humans. No human is going to put ketchup on them! Only the best of ingredients are to be put on them.
Just like those pieces of meat are there to serve the needs of human hunger, we, as Christians, are here to serve the desires of the Father. His desires, above all else, are what we are to fulfill. We are to be servants to his will. This means that our lives are not our own. Our will and desires are put to death in order to serve the Father.
But Jesus called them to him and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Matthew 20:25-28
And he sat down and called the twelve. And he said to them, “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.”
Mark 9:35
Once we have given our lives to Jesus, we are his servants. Jesus explicitly tells us that we are to be servants to others, even to our own detriment. After all, he did that for us. He became low, humiliated himself, and even died for us. We are to emulate him.
Yet, like the brats on that grill, we come to Jesus with conditions. We may not even realize it. How often are we like that with God? We tell him that our life is completely his. We sit in church and learn that we are to be servants of God and we are to serve others. All the while, we give God conditions on that servanthood. We are being entitled in regards to our servanthood, as if we don’t owe God anything but are doing him a favor with the little we are willing to give.
“I will do missions as long as it is local and doesn’t cost too much.”
“I will help the homeless shelter, but only if they run it the way I want.”
“I will forgive and not be judgmental as long as it isn’t someone who is divorced, engaged in pornography, or has addiction issues.”
“I will help teach but I am not teaching that material or those people.”
“I will be faithful in going to church, but only in churches that have ________ music, ________ kind of outreach, kids programs, …”
“I will minister to people, but not drug addicts, alcoholics, divorced people, or prostitutes.”
“I will stop being argumentative unless it is about politics.”
“I will tithe every paycheck as long as the pastor/church doesn’t _____________.”
The list could go on and on and on. When we give our lives to Jesus, it is fully. We don’t get to choose the dressings and side items. If Jesus wants us burnt to a crisp and served on whole wheat bread, then that is what we are to do. If he wants us dressed up with every condiment and served on fresh baked brioche, then that is what we are to do.
Everything about our lives is about service to Jesus. His two commandments were to love God above all else and to love others as yourself. Both of those commands are about serving: service to God and service to others. These are not easy commands as putting others before yourself is often difficult. But that is what is required.
Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”
Matthew 16:24
And the awesome thing is, God likes us all different. So what he calls me to do will be different than what he calls you to do. But know this, God calls all of us to be servants, without conditions. We are called to be brats (the meat) but we are not called to be brats (the adjective).
Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.”
John 14:23
But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men.”
Acts 5:29
“If you love me, you will keep my commandments.”
John 14:15
- What has God called you to do? What attitudes has he instructed you to change?
- Have you followed him wholeheartedly in those endeavors?
- Have you put restrictions on your service?
- What are you critical of in the church or in your walk with God? These are usually indicators of areas that you are being entitled about.
- Pray about your heart condition. Ask Jesus to help you move out of your comfort zone and to follow him wholeheartedly.
Meme pictures derived from social media and shared under Fair Use Copyright Law
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