Sand Mountain Sermonette 52
Philippians 3:13-14
Time to Get a Hamburger?
“Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:13-14
When I was sixteen years old, I made a discovery I was not expecting to make. My step grandfather Homer, who had married my grandmother Iris on my mother’s side, had a relative who had passed away. The funeral was to be held several miles out in the country from Hustleville, Alabama, where Homer and Mamaw lived, which in and of itself is way out in the country.
Homer had had to leave earlier the afternoon of the funeral visitation and had given Mamaw Iris verbal instructions on how to get to the funeral home with the idea that my grandmother, who could not drive, would call one of her daughters to drive her to the visitation. Well, Mamaw called my mom and mom invited me to ride out to Hustleville and pick Mamaw up closer to the actual visitation time because Mamaw didn’t want to get out there too early. After we picked Mamaw up, we began to head in the direction of the funeral home per Homer’s directions. The only problem was we drove and drove and drove; taking this turn and that turn but to no avail. And, after about an hour or so of driving and not finding that funeral home anywhere, Mamaw, who was aggravated at Homer said to my mom, “Ah’ Jeanine, let’s just don’t worry about!” “Let’s just go and get something to eat!” And we did! We found a little café closer to Hustleville and walked inside to place our orders.
Once inside, as we were standing in front of the counter from where we would place our orders, we all noticed the menu was on a board suspended above the counter, brightly lit and utilizing those black interchangeable letters and numbers. But when mom asked me what I wanted, I told her I didn’t know because I couldn’t see the menu. I told her everything looked blurry. Well, mother ordered my hamburger for me but a few days later, I was sitting in Dr. McLendon’s office suite in downtown Albertville where it was determined that I needed my first pair of glasses. And boy O’ boy! When those glasses came in and I first put them on, I could read a restaurant menu and everything else more clearly than I had in a long time!
What’s often missing in the Christian life is, focus. Perhaps our priorities are out of line because we’re running in all directions chasing all types of goals. Perhaps we’ve been looking over our shoulder at a past mistake or sin that God took care of once and for all at the cross but the enemy of our souls or just that old fleshly impulse that still wars against our new nature in Christ causes us to feel we have let God down and therefore, He is displeased with us.
Has your life become blurry, distorted, and directionless? Dear Christian, respectfully speaking, sometimes you have to go to get a hamburger rather than go to the funeral home! That old habitual sin, that old place, that old consumption, and the shame and guilt that goes along with it doesn’t need a funeral visitation. It’s okay to be “lost” from that. Follow the Holy Spirit to the hamburger stand and allow God to readjust your vision and your direction in life. Then, when you look at the menu board you clearly see these letters: J-E-S-U-S! The One who nourishes and nurtures you spiritually. The One who loves you. The One who enabled Paul to forget the past so he could press on in a forward direction towards the one true GOAL in life that aligns all our priorities God’s way--the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Is He your everything?
Pastor Louie