A few weeks ago Katie bought a really nice charcoal grill. It was handsome! It had a warming grill, and 'pot' for ashes, a turn knob to raise and lower the coals, and a handy shelf on the side plus one at the bottom. We were anxious to use it, we love that charcoal grilled flavor!
But for the last three and a half weeks it sat in our living room, right where it was put together. The grill was assembled, the charcoal waiting, the lighter fluid ready to blaze. Why then did it just sit there?
Though the top part looked like a very well-built appliance, the legs were worthless. It wobbled around like an octogenarian trying to use a hoola hoop! Tilting first one way, then another. And so it sat. We were befuddled as to what to do with the listing horror.
My brother, Jim, and his family came today for a visit and he began looking at the grill, asked for the instructions, then decided to call the manufacturer. A woman began to answer his questions about it, looked up the model and replied, "There's one sitting right here on the floor, let me check."
Her reply? "Yes, this one here also wobbles all around. They've told us it's okay for it to do that, it won't fall down."
What? Why would any manufacturer build an exceptionally nice grill and then allow it's support to lurch uncontrollably? Can't you just see those burgers and steaks, moving from side to side as the grill shifts it's weight around? And just how do you apply the barbecue sauce onto a moving target? What happens if the flames roar up? Where do you squirt the water? It'd be like trying to squirt the ducks on the midway at the fair.
The Word says in 1 Corinthians 3:10b-11 "But each one should be careful how he builds. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ." And in 2 Corinthians 1:24 we are told it is "by faith you stand firm."
We need to have a foundation, a secure footing, to be able to stand when the going gets tough. That solid rock is Jesus, our steadfast support. Believing in Him undergirds, fortifies, and strengthens our lives so we may do the work He wants us to do. Jesus is our unshakeable, unwavering, immobile, firm basis we can rest on, secure that we won't fall and break apart.
Well Ed, Katie, and Jim took the grill back to the store today. Looks like there'll be no grilled burgers for a while. Though I'll miss that first great charcoal flavor of the season, I'd rather do without than have to face the hula dance of the fiendish grill! 5/8/06
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