Good Word

‎"But what if in the middle of all of that joy, in the middle of my daughter lighting up, of my wife being surprised, of getting something good myself, what if in the middle of all of that, I’m reminded of Jesus’ words in Matthew 7 where He says, 'If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!' Now all of a sudden in that moment it’s more than a tree and presents. There’s something deeper, there’s something divine in the room. Or what if, as we’re sitting around the table and we’re eating great food and drinking great wine or sweet tea and we’re enjoying that moment together, what if instead of green bean casserole and smoked ham, I remember that the book of Ecclesiastes teaches me that good meal is practice for heaven? Now all of a sudden it goes well beyond turkey. Now all of a sudden it goes well beyond good wine. All these things are good in and of themselves, but the problem with the human soul has nothing to do with diet or morality. We are created deep things and we breathe superficial air. It’s like eating sugar constantly. You’re going to constantly be sick and never feel full despite the fact that you eat and eat and eat.

And listen, I’m young but I’m not naïve. I know some of you are going, 'That’s a really pretty postcard you just drew up there, pastor. But the truth is, my family, it’s going to be volatile. The truth is, people are only coming to my house because I love my mother. If I didn’t love my mother, I wouldn’t let those fools in my house.' Some of you know what I’m talking about, huh? Yeah, I get it. But can I be just very honest with you tonight? If ever the gospel of Jesus Christ makes sense, it’s at that table, where you can serve and love and encourage those who may have never done anything but harm you. Now the world would say, 'Let’s fight, let’s be angry, let’s pay back, let’s get in our jab,' but the gospel says, 'No no no, serve, love.' So we’ve got depth. All of a sudden we’ve got depth around something that was once volatile. Now we’ve got God lingering long after all the presents are open."
~Chandler