Are You a Museum?
By Alan Allegra
We are in
the middle of the season of Lent, a time of year when many
people give up something as a type of fast before Easter. When I
was a kid, I was raised in a tradition that observed Lent, and I
had to give up something. Because you had to fast from something
you liked (candy, cake, ice cream, etc.) I wanted to fast from
Lent. Giving up broccoli or spinach was not an option.
We are also nearing Easter, when thoughts run to collecting
Easter eggs (or Peeps) in little baskets. This custom dates back
to a time when eggs were forbidden during Lent. Fastnachts, a
Pennsylvania Dutch custom, allow one to use up rich ingredients
before the fast, and to bulk up in anticipation of fasting. No
matter what the custom, the idea of Lent is to sacrifice
something to symbolize the removal of the Bridegroom from our
midst (Matthew 9:15).
Some things are hard to give up. Almost everyone collects
something. The March & April 2008 issue of AARP Magazine
featured a story about people who collect everything from coins
to stamps to cast-iron cookware to mustard. I guess as long as
we're not sitting around collecting dust or moss, it's OK to
collect things.
I, for one, am loathe to throw out rubber bands, pieces of
string, three-way-turned-one-way bulbs, and other USEFUL items.
The article states that collecting is an irrational act. It
seems that there are just some things we can't give up, no
matter how useless they may be. I mean, why collect stamps you
can't use, coins you can't spend, radios you can't fix, and
rubber bands you can't stretch?
Fans of Antiques Roadshow on PBS know that some items that sit
around gathering dust might be gathering value as well. It's
exciting to see a piece of furniture that was bought at a flea
market for 50 turn out to be worth $50,000 because George
Washington drooled on it, and the drawer contains an original
document signed by Moses.
The Bible tells us about some things that are well worth
collecting, that are guaranteed to increase in worth and don't
cost a centthings that appreciate in value the more you share
them.
Listen to what the Apostle Peter says:
For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith
goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge,
self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to
perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness;
and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these
qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being
ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus
Christ (2 Peter 1:58).
Spiritual assets never go out of style, never tarnish, and never
lose their value unless they sit around collecting dust. Because
of our need to escape worldly corruption (2 Peter 1:4), we need
to collect the above virtues. Notice the progression, that we
must begin with faith that is, saving faith in the Lord Jesus
Christ. Only then is one certified as a genuine collector. Then
follow the others, culminating in that special treasure: love.
When your shelves begin to sag with the weight of these traits,
you become increasingly effective and fruitful as a Christian,
further conforming to His image. The more you collect, the more
you can share with others. You become a living museum,
displaying the virtues and works of God in Jesus.
Whether or not you observe Lent, any time is the right time to
give up certain things. For example, Peter suggests: "Therefore,
rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy,
and slander of every kind" (1 Peter 2:1). These things are
useless, neither good for sharing nor worth saving. Your museum
would fold, and Antiques Roadshow would pass by your city.
If we collect the appropriate virtues and constantly nourish and
care for them, we will be on display for all eternity in God's
trophy case. "And God raised us up with Christ and seated us
with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that
in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his
grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus"
(Ephesians 2: 6, 7).
Hop off the shelf, dust yourself off, and live for God today!
Alan Allegra, Executive Administrative Assistant of Faith Church
in Allentown, Pa.
More devotionals at
http://www.faithefc.com/includes/Alan-Devotionals.htm.
