We often hear about the "Christian Right," or "Conservative Christians." Yet, if you think about it, Jesus was the original liberal.  He cared about motives more than the deeds themselves (Matthew 23:5 & Mark 12:41-43) and more about compassion than adhering to rules (Luke 6:1-11 & Luke 13:10-17). This blog will reflect liberal Christian values of compassion, tolerance, mercy, charity, a thirst for knowledge & understanding, and, above all, love.

Friday, March 15, 2019

God Is Not A Burger King

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John 14:13-14 ~ “Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.  If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it. ”

I pray everyday.  Actually, I pray multiple times per day.  When I find myself in pain, scared, or frustrated to my wits end I stop, quiet myself, and turn to God.  Doing so usually brings me a sense of peace which gets me through the moment.


| Subject: Burger King’s new Big King XL |
| Date: 01/25/2019 | Photographers: James Kiester & Dani Cogswell |

However, I often find my prayers becoming “lists to Santa” of things I want.  Then, I find myself getting irked when what I'm asking for doesn't happen fast enough.  Essentially, I’m treating God like a cashier at Burger King; I want it my way, right away.

John 14:13 implies that’s the way prayers work, “Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do,…”  Seems pretty straight forward, just ask for something in the name of Jesus and you'll have it.  Of course, if such were the case every Christian would have a million dollars in bank and instant revenge against our enemies.

I have no doubt God is real and He answers prayers.  If I prayed without believing that, I’d be wasting a good deal of time each day.  God DOES answer prayers.  I can see patterns in my life which could have only taken shape if an external hand had been guiding events.

Yet, God is first and foremost a parent, and every parent knows not to give a child a cookie every time they ask for one.  A good parent knows when to give the kid a celery stick instead.  Sometimes, I think God gives us a proverbial celery stick in answer to our prayers.  It’s not the answer we want, but it’s the answer we need.