|
|
Thursday, April 21, 2005
I was browsing the CD store one afternoon and I came across a new release from a band who called themselves "Dumpster Juice." I laughed out loud at the visual imagery that created in my mind and thought they came up with a memorable name but probably wouldn't last because of how gross that imagery was.
And I've used it to describe how many Christians live.
Sure, my pastor came up with this analogy, but I've "teeagerized" it. The analogy goes something like this: Let's say that you've been living in a dumpster your entire life. Every day you have to eat the muck and mire that other people have thrown out (which is where the imagery comes from in my mind...all the "juice" that drips down from the muck and mire to the bottom of the dumpster...ugh) and you have to sleep in filth.
One morning the restaurant owner comes out and sees you there. He says there's no reason to live in the dumpster anymore. He'll gladly give you a job in his restaurant, give you a place to live, shower, shave and such, and let you eat balanced meals with the best desserts all the days of your life. And, there's more to come, actually that he'll tell you about later.
You gladly accept...and enjoy the new life.
So, what sense does it make to go back and live in the dumpster? Why would you want to eat trashy leftovers? Why would you want to drink dumpster juice? It just doesn't make rational, logical sense.
Obviously, that is supposed to be symbolic of our salvation experience and how grace relates to a walk with Christ. It's put beautifully in Paul's words in Colossians 3: 1--4:
"Since you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory."
So, from yesterday, we learned what the Christian life truly is NOT.
Today, we learn what it IS.
And what it IS is...
...remembering we have been raised with Christ. The implication is that we were dead, and now we're alive. We've been taken out of the dumpster and into the restaurant.
..."keep seeking" the things above. Striving to have a relationship with the restaurant owner. Learning that it isn't about rules or regulations but rather about getting to know the One who saved us from our life in the dumpster so we can emulate His ways in order for more people to get their lives out of the dumpster.
...setting our mind on things above. Changing the way we think about the dumpster. Sometimes we view "sin" as a "funhouse" rather than a dumpster. It's changing the way we think about everything that happens to us in this life.
...remembering we're "dead" to the dumpster, and our life is now invisible because the only thing seen is now Christ.
...remembering that we're in process. There's hope in the reality that working and eating in the restaurant isn't all their is. There will be more to come, and we'll actually be revealed in glory!
All that considered, why would you want to drink dumpster juice?
So, for today, let's use the comments section to share with each other how we've moved from an "worldly" view of a life happening or event to an "eternal" one...or what we learned when we went back to the dumpster for a short time...
Brent 4:57 AM
|