Tuesday, June 08, 2010

Frazzelnut Ice-cream...Ummmmm......Yum!!!



An illustration reflecting what often happens in modern Christianity:

Sales-woman to customer:

"Have you heard about the amazing "Frazzlenut Ice-cream"?? If you haven't tried it, you simply must. It's the latest hot, or should I say "cool," thing on the market with ingredients of only the finest quality. Frazzlenuts of course, rich carmel, mouth watering chocolates, and some special secret flavors that everyone is dying to know. Let me just tell you, it is the most luscious dessert you will ever wrap your taste buds around! And when you swallow it, as it goes down your throat and into your stomach, it has healing properties that heals any digestive ailments you may have. It's so extra-ordinary that we've built schools to train people how to make it. Like I said, the ingredients are extra-ordinary, specially imported from several parts of the world, and I can tell you about each one of them...that is except for the secret flavors. (For now, that's a secret!) Furthermore, I can tell you how the Ice-cream is processed and why it has to be made in only specialized factories. For one, it goes through a special machine unlike any other ice-cream maker ever invented, which allows the Frazzelnuts and chocolates to be folded into the carmel cream within separate layers. And that's just getting started. Like I said, there is so much to tell. In fact, this ice-cream is such a winner that we've even written songs about it. I can teach them to you. We sing them every day. You really must buy some and take it home to share with your family...you wont regret it!"

Customer: "That sounds great! Do you eat the stuff yourself?"

Sales-woman: "Well.......(pause)...... No! I'm Vegan! But, I know it's REALLY good. You simply must buy some!"

Like I said, this is kinda a funny scenario I put together based on some things my friend Eric shared, yet if I think about it in relation to the Christian life. How many of us go through our lives talking about God, memorizing scripture, memorizing all the proof texts, knowing how to give Bible studies, rattling off the answers to all the Bible questions, singing songs to honor God...yet we haven't really tasted for ourselves that God is good! We haven't experienced him truly for ourselves!

It's like we grow up memorizing the map of Christianity, we guard the map with our lives, we talk about it, we philosophize about different routes we could take, we look at pictures of the scenic parks on the map, and we talk about the journey. But we never go anywhere...we just talk about the journey...we don't take it!

This is where most of surface Christianity hangs out! Everyone is great map-readers and great salesmen for "Frazzlenut Ice-cream." But they've never taken the journey themselves, and they've never really tasted the ice-cream...It's all just in their heads. The intellectual understanding hasn't gotten to their hearts!

Let's stop being good salesmen, and start taking the journey ourselves!!

3 comments:

Sarah said...

I like it! You are really getting to learn so much there at the retreat! I am almost jealous! May God richly bless your time spent apart! :-)

Emo said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Emo said...

Yes this is a process. In order to sell we should not only to taste but to eat "Frazzlenut Ice-cream!" all the time .
Have a blessed time there.