A few years ago I was given the opportunity to try oysters. Raw oysters. I’m not sure whether it was the peer pressure or just morbid curiosity, but I decided to give it a shot. Open the hatch, past the gums, look out tummy, here it comes!
I learned something that day: I am not a big fan of raw oysters. It wasn’t so much the flavor that bothered me, but the texture. I don’t know any way to describe it except for the word “slime.” In food, consistency can make or break something. I think that’s true in all of life.
It’s not hard for us to stand and acknowledge that the Christ is king. What is difficult is to live that truth day after day after day. It isn’t that hard to be a Christian on Sunday mornings. Our consistency on Tuesday at four-thirty is what tells the whole story.
It’s the second Sunday of 2011. Many of you have started the year off with perfect attendance! Will you strive to maintain your commitment and your consistency throughout the next fifty weeks? Some of us are new Christians. Are we planning and working to build a faith that is built on the rock that will weather the storms of life? (See Matthew 7:24-27). Some of our number are experiencing the difficulty of failing health. Will you “finish well” even in times of physical difficulty?
Let’s work to encourage each other to be more consistent in 2011. Jesus says, “Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.” (Revelation 2:10)