Warning – I stole this example!!! (with permission of course)
During my first visit to NC back in 1993 – I remember going to Tracie’s Grandma’s House for Thanksgiving dinner. It was a different culinary experience to say the least. I remember looking at a big pot with leaves in it – wondering why they were boiling the salad? I remember grabbing a hand full of what I thought were banana chips – and being told that it was cut up squash. I remember being introduced to food I had never seen before – okra, pinto beans, collard greens, and much more. I of course didn’t appreciate any of this because I don’t like vegetables – but the family loved it and no one could cook it like Grandma!!! All hail Grandma!
However, no one complimenting the farmer on this particular day. Grandma had spent a few long hours in the kitchen preparing the food, but the crop of fruits and vegetables that she prepared took weeks and months to grow. The farmer toiled over each one of those crops with sweat and hard labor to grow them from seed to end product. Occasionally you were hear the phrase – “that was some good fruit right there” but most of the time it’s more like “Grandma made the best apple pie today!!!”.
I think sometimes we focus our applause on the cook and not the farmer of the crop. It reminds me of church. What preacher doesn’t like hearing the words – “Great sermon today Matt!” or “You really did a great job with that passage today”. How much attention in our churches are slipping away from Author and Creator of the Word, and shifting to the speaker and deliverer of the Word. I know I like the applause, but when I think about the future of my life and ministry – I would much rather keep my focus on the Lord of the Harvest – and not how creatively I prepare or “cook” something this week.
Just a thought to consider. Do you find yourself giving praise to the cook – or to the Creator?
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