When I was a kid I went to summer camp every year. There were lots of great experiences and I learned a lot about life while I was at camp. One of the things I did not enjoy, however, was KP or kitchen patrol. It was often assigned as a regular duty but was also assigned as a punishment when such action was warranted. KP usually meant peeling potatoes - and lots of them. Sometimes it meant washing all kinds of pots. Whatever it was it was never fun. I suppose I was a typical young male in that I really didn't enjoy any kind of duty in the kitchen and when it was my turn to help my mother there I moaned and groaned along with the best of the moaners and groaners. It was not until I married my wife that it occurred to me that someone could really like working in the kitchen. She has always enjoyed cooking and simply delights in every detail of putting on a good meal. She spends hours reading cooking magazines and watching cooking shows - writing down ideas to try out at some future date. For her the kitchen does not represent duty but rather delight. And there is the key to joyful living. For too many of us "Christians" going to church, living a holy life of self-sacrifice, or really loving others is not a joy and delight. It is instead a duty. No wonder we are accused of having dour faces and depressing thoughts. All of that stuff is really difficult to do if there is no excitement about it. So where can we get the excitement from? The excitement comes from understanding that we are truly loved and that God made a great sacrifice to seek us out. Once we know that, then responding to His love becomes easy and eventually even a delight. Let's learn to delight in our Christian walk. It will make it a lot easier and certainly more attractive to others.
No comments:
Post a Comment