Oct | 26 | “Throwing Pickled Mushrooms at God”

Key Word:- LOVE

Title:- “Throwing Pickled Mushrooms at God”

Revelation 2:4-6 Nonetheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lamp stand from its place — unless you repent.

The opening chapters to the Book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ contain seven letters for seven churches. Seven little notes from Jesus to those He loves and who love Him. Though frankly they do not appear to look like love letters! In one sense these letters are to literal historical churches; in another, they are to the church militant as it marches through space and time, finding itself in these seven different phases which demand comment and correction by Christ; and in another sense they are letters to any church, anywhere, anytime that may manifest these attitudes or inclinations. In other words, these notes speak to us today, if they address issues in our life that are offensive to Jesus.

The renowned church of Ephesus the veritable delight of scholars throughout the ages, the doctrinal diva of the theologian, is the first to get the attention of Jesus. I am assuming that He who is the 'First and the Last' likes to encapsulate His messages in that which is both primary and paramount: love and faithfulness.

So, noting the correctness, the perseverance, the labour and faithfulness of the church at Ephesus, Jesus never the less addresses the primary issue when He talks of love. A particular kind of love at that. A first love.

Our shelves and digital directories are packed with books on love. The ‘how to’s’ the ‘when to’s’ and the ‘what not's’ of true love. All of which are very good and very helpful. However, the most disturbing yet common theme I have found, is the expectant embracing and acceptance of the morphing of first love into consistent and comfortable love. “After all,” say most writers, “the time and energy for most of us to keep up a passionate love affair with our spouses is neither available nor practical as we get older; especially with the diminishing of our physical energy and the growing demands of children, jobs and bills.” The answer to this is a ‘rock solid, steady, old shoe, comfortable, knowing and faithful love,’ which is to be greeted and embraced, almost with relief! Jesus says “Nonetheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love.”

Wild and passionate, this untamed lion still seeks out sparks to fan them into flames of passion. “Love me” He says “with ‘all’ you heart, with ‘all’ your soul, with ‘all’ your mind.” “Seek me,” says He, “with everything you have and are and you shall find me.”

Let us lay aside the old lie of comfortable love and embrace the demands of Jesus once more. Love Him with unbridled and unrelenting passion! Love Him with eyes aflame! Love Him with sacrifice! Love Him with tenderness! Love Him with intent to win! Love Him with intent to die for! True love, tall love, tasty love, tangible love, telling love, total love! Love Him with ‘FIRST LOVE’ once again.

Listen:- “He was absolutely wild about being. He kept thinking up new ways of being and new kinds of being to be. One afternoon, God the Son came along and said, “This is really great stuff. Why don’t I go out and mix up a batch?” And God the Holy Spirit said, “Terrific! I’ll help you.” So they got together that night after supper and put on a tremendous show of being for the Father. It was full of water and light and frogs; pussy willows kept dropping all over the place, and speckled fish swam around in wine glasses. There were mushrooms and grapes and horseradishes and tigers- and men and women everywhere to taste them, juggle them, join with them and love them. God the Father looked at the whole wild party and said,” Wonderful. Just what I had in mind. Yeh!” And all God the Son and the Holy Spirit could think of was to say, “Yeh, yeh!” They laughed for ages saying things like how great it was for being to be, how clever of the Father to conceive the idea, how kind of the Son to go to all the trouble to put it together, and how gracious of the Spirit to devote so much time to choreography. They told old jokes to one another, and the Father and the Son drank their wine in the unity of the Holy Spirit and threw ripe olives and pickled mushrooms at each other for ever and ever.” Rev. Robert Farrar Capon

Pray: - Jesus. Let me begin again. I repent of my dryness, my shallowness, my shabbiness, my shame in not having my heart aflame for you. Lord, let the sparks fly! Let me begin to love You the ageless God with a fresh heart and fullness of passion. Lord, fill my cup with dancing frogs today. Amen.