I've had this thought running through my head for days now that my faith is like a gallon of milk. If you're still reading this after that last statement, allow me to elaborate on my obscure metaphor. I've been in conversation with several close friends about how I relate with other people, and how other people percieve who I am. I have taken time to consider what these people have told me because they are people who I respect and love as brothers in Christ, and that means a lot.
These thoughts have mostly centered around me being "reserved" and "aloof." To me, these terms sound like the antithesis of "relevant" and "engaging." This brought me to a crisis of belief in regards to my faith and how it is manifest outwardly through my relationships and conversations, which brings me to the milk.
Whenever I go to the store to get me a gallon of milk, I come right home and put that puppy right in the refridgerator; don't you? It would be silly of me to spend $3.89 on a gallon of milk only to come home and leave it out on the kitchen table; it would last for awhile, but after a few days it would be neither refreshing, thirst-quenching, or fresh. But if I keep it in the freezer, when a friend needs a drink, I can pull out it out of the fridge and we can both be renewed. The milk needs to spend time in the refrigerator to stay fresh; if it's left out all the time, it goes sour before too long.
I believe there is some truth to validating an inverted personality by equating said "fridge time" to intimate relationship with God, but I think that it's easy for me sometimes to take this idea and validate my aloof manner instead of engaging people in relationships. I know that I must find a balance between intimate, personal time in the presence of Christ and pulling my faith out of the fridge and letting the overflow of my cup bless others, but I just love that stinkin' fridge time so much that it's hard for me to not be intoxicated with the idea of spending time broken before the throne of Christ. Somehow, I have a feeling this will work itself out. See you soon.
1 comment:
Hey I totally know the feeling. Right now I'm trying to get back in the fridge because I think and feel and know I've been out too long.
It's definitely a kind of see-saw balance that in whichever direction we teeter, and with time, I know God will and is training us that we would stay closer and closer to fulcrum point.
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