Every Thursday, or nearly every Thursday, I go to a local restaurant (The 50s Twist Diner) and grill chicken. I know there are probably some jokes running through your mind right now concerning fried chicken and preachers, but I actually prefer the grilled variety of that particular poultry. And, if I do say so myself, it’s pretty good. I make my own basting sauce, a secret recipe, and nearly everyone who tries it seems to like it. That’s fine with me, especially if it helps the proprietor of diner.
Anyway, I’m very particular about my chicken. Case in point: my very-soon-to-be sister-in-law (sorry I went hyphen-happy there) recently went to a cook out where she said she had some chicken that was “pink and kind of tasted funny.” Needless to say, much of the next day was spent at a hospital where she once again encountered the “funky chicken.”
Having suffered from food poisoning myself, I am quite particular when it comes to making sure my food is “done.” There are some things that I will eat only if there’s a layer of charcoal that must be shaved off the outside. And there are other things that don’t have to be charred for me to enjoy. Chicken, though, is one thing that has to be perfect.
When I cooked today, and on Sunday afternoon when I grilled twenty pounds of chicken (that’s a lot of chicken, and it only took me two hours, twenty minutes to cook it all for a church fellowship that evening), I made sure that each piece was properly heated throughout. I could judge by the time on the grill that each piece should be about finished, but I would also cut some pieces in two in order to look at the inside, just to be certain.
As I grilled, I couldn’t help thinking that the chicken on the grill is similar to us and our lives. We all have some fiery trials that come our way, but the Lord, the Master Chef if you will, knows how long we have to cook. Some of us are thicker than others (stronger in spirit and faith), and might require additional cooking time. But the Master knows when we’re just right. Sometimes He cuts into us to expose those parts of us that need more heat, but in the end, He wants to make sure we come off the heat just the right way. Taking us off too soon, and we may still be raw inside, unable to learn or grow effectively. Leaving us on too long, and we get burned, we get hard and dried out, and aren’t much use.
But the Lord knows exactly what He’s doing. While we’re in the fire, we are getting more and more “done.” He adds different ingredients to our lives which enhance our experience and improve our “flavor.” Then, when everything is just right, He removes us and offers us to the world. What we’ve been through, while sometimes hot and painful, enables others to feast on our experience and find encouragement and growth from us, and from what the Lord has done in us.
So the next time I’m standing over a hot grill, watching the minutes tick by and burning my fingers, I might look at it a little differently. If I put this much care in cooking a bird, how much more will the Lord care for me as He prepares me for His service?
© 2006, Chris Keeton and Soulscape Press. All rights reserved. All material printed on this site is protected by the copyright law of the United States. It may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of Chris Keeton and Soulscape Press, obtainable by writing to soulscape@alltel.net. Altering or removing any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content is not permitted. Any and all portions of material copied from the Soulscape Blog must be properly attributed to Chris Keeton and Soulscape, and cited with original blog web address.
Anyway, I’m very particular about my chicken. Case in point: my very-soon-to-be sister-in-law (sorry I went hyphen-happy there) recently went to a cook out where she said she had some chicken that was “pink and kind of tasted funny.” Needless to say, much of the next day was spent at a hospital where she once again encountered the “funky chicken.”
Having suffered from food poisoning myself, I am quite particular when it comes to making sure my food is “done.” There are some things that I will eat only if there’s a layer of charcoal that must be shaved off the outside. And there are other things that don’t have to be charred for me to enjoy. Chicken, though, is one thing that has to be perfect.
When I cooked today, and on Sunday afternoon when I grilled twenty pounds of chicken (that’s a lot of chicken, and it only took me two hours, twenty minutes to cook it all for a church fellowship that evening), I made sure that each piece was properly heated throughout. I could judge by the time on the grill that each piece should be about finished, but I would also cut some pieces in two in order to look at the inside, just to be certain.
As I grilled, I couldn’t help thinking that the chicken on the grill is similar to us and our lives. We all have some fiery trials that come our way, but the Lord, the Master Chef if you will, knows how long we have to cook. Some of us are thicker than others (stronger in spirit and faith), and might require additional cooking time. But the Master knows when we’re just right. Sometimes He cuts into us to expose those parts of us that need more heat, but in the end, He wants to make sure we come off the heat just the right way. Taking us off too soon, and we may still be raw inside, unable to learn or grow effectively. Leaving us on too long, and we get burned, we get hard and dried out, and aren’t much use.
But the Lord knows exactly what He’s doing. While we’re in the fire, we are getting more and more “done.” He adds different ingredients to our lives which enhance our experience and improve our “flavor.” Then, when everything is just right, He removes us and offers us to the world. What we’ve been through, while sometimes hot and painful, enables others to feast on our experience and find encouragement and growth from us, and from what the Lord has done in us.
So the next time I’m standing over a hot grill, watching the minutes tick by and burning my fingers, I might look at it a little differently. If I put this much care in cooking a bird, how much more will the Lord care for me as He prepares me for His service?
© 2006, Chris Keeton and Soulscape Press. All rights reserved. All material printed on this site is protected by the copyright law of the United States. It may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of Chris Keeton and Soulscape Press, obtainable by writing to soulscape@alltel.net. Altering or removing any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content is not permitted. Any and all portions of material copied from the Soulscape Blog must be properly attributed to Chris Keeton and Soulscape, and cited with original blog web address.
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