I don’t know about you, but there is something beautiful about a well laid out buffet that warms my heart.  All that selection presented before me and I get to be the creator of my own customized meal (not that I’m a control freak).  On our recent vacation to California our friends took my wife and I to a place called Hometown Buffet.  To say that it was a remarkable experience might not be too strong of a phrase.  Maybe that was because we had a 2 for 1 coupon (I do like deals) or it could have been a result of getting to try Strawberry Fanta for the first time [side note: if this same opportunity presents itself to you, do yourself a favour and chug that back].  Regardless, it was a delightful meal that left me satisfied in my belly region. 

Recently I’ve been thinking a little bit about how we let our love for things like buffets creep into the way that we follow after Jesus.  Maybe it has to do with the fact that we like to be able to pick and choose and customize things, but as I look around I’ve begun to realize that the buffet mentality has slipped its way into our faith.  We are on board with what Jesus wants to offer and will even agree to follow Him, but we want to pick and choose what that looks like.  In the same way that I skipped over the vegetable options at the buffet so that I could focus on the meats (and then an assortment of desserts), it seems almost natural to us in our culture to pick the parts of what Jesus calls us to and discard or ignore the things that we may not like.  We easily find ways to justify our actions in ignoring God’s call for us to be holy as He is holy. [1 Pet. 1:15,16]

This is not a new problem, unique to us in our culture and time - in fact, the apostle Paul wrote about this issue more than once in Scripture.  In his letter to the Colossians, Paul urges the believer to “Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.” [Col. 3:5] and instead as “God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.” [Col. 3:12]

Earlier in the book of Ephesians, Paul says similar things - “I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking.” [Eph. 4:17]  He continues, calling the believer to put off the “old self and put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” [Eph. 4:23, 24]

In his letters Paul makes it clear that a follower of Jesus will not live a life characterized by things like “bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, sexual immorality, impurity, lust and greed.”  In his first letter to Corinth he minces no words when he says this: “Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.  And that is what some of you were.  But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” [1 Cor. 5:9-11]

Here lies the beauty of God’s grace - it doesn’t matter where we come from, or what we were.  Forgiveness and justification are offered to us freely, but they come with a responsibility - to follow after Jesus fully.  Not picking and choosing what we like about His message like we would in a buffet, but embracing the call to be holy in every aspect of our life, not unlike ordering the chef’s special (and choosing to enjoy it as he designed it, not swapping out the salad for fries).

I don’t know what areas in your life are the hardest for you to give up - maybe it is sexual pursuits not within the boundaries of their intention: marriage.  Maybe for you it is tied to sexual orientation, or maybe it isn’t even sexual at all.  Maybe it’s abuse of a chemical, or allowing anger and bitterness to have a foothold in your life.  Maybe it’s cutting corners in business practices or cheating to get ahead in class.  It’s so easy for us as humans to justify in our own minds why we do what we do.  But the simple fact is this: God is the designer of life and as such, He has a pretty clear idea of how life is best to be lived.  Let’s commit to stop trying to pick and choose how we think life should look and in doing so miss out on true life abundant.

Make no mistake about it, when it comes to going out for dinner I’m still going to be hitting up as many buffets as I can find (especially if they help me succeed in locating more of the elusive Fanta flavours), but when it comes to following after Jesus, I want to abandon the buffet mentality in favour of embracing life as a dish the way He dreamt up and intended for both me and my pleasure.

Reg