Grace as Rest (Galatians 3)

We live in a culture of more.  If you’ve that before it was likely connected to our culture’s materialism.  How we always want more of this, more of that.  And that’s a fair critique.  But I actually mean something else.  I mean that we live in a culture that demands more.  That demands more of you.  That wants more from you.

Back in 2000, while I was in high school, a movie came out called “Dude, Where’s My Car?”  High-art film this movie was not.  The basic premise is that a couple of best friends, Jesse and Chester, wake up one morning to discover their car is missing and they go looking for it.  That’s really all you need to know.

Anyway, in one scene a friend of theirs takes them through the drive-thru at a Chinese restaurant.  After Jesse places each portion of their order, the drive-thru lady says, “and then?”  This goes on for a while, until they’re done.  But the lady won’t relent, saying “and then?”  Jesse gets more and more frustrated as the lady gets more and more threatening and obnoxious with her “and theeeeeeeeeen?”  After a couple minutes of this Jesse snaps and destroys the drive-thru box.

It’s a silly moment in a silly movie, but it’s an idea we can identify with.  Every time we do something, someone is there to say, “and then?”  Every time you finish a project, your boss is there to say, “and then?”  You pick the kids up from school. And then…it’s time for dance or soccer practice.  And then…you have to pick up dinner.  And then…it’s time to pick the kids up again.  And then…it’s time to help with homework.  And then…laundry.  And then…yardwork.  And then…bills need to be paid.  And then…they need to be paid again.  And then…the sink needs to be fixed.  And then…taxes are due.  And then…different taxes are due.  And then…it’s somebody’s birthday and you need to get a card and a gift.  And then…you’ve got a checkup at the doctor’s office. And then, and then, and then, and then, and then.

A Change You Can Believe In (Galatians 2:19-21)

I want you to think for a second about your favorite food.  Your favorite dish, whether it’s something homemade or from your favorite restaurant.  Try and remember, if you can, the feeling you got the first time that food hit your taste buds.  The way the flavors mixed and mingled on your tongue.  The way you felt the urge, the need to vocalize to whoever you were eating with about how good it was.  The way your brain immediately said, “give me more!”  Now think of the last time you ate it.  Did it evoke the same reactions?  Or was it now something that was still delicious, still something you enjoyed, but perhaps just a bit too familiar.  A bit predictable.  Maybe even a little more bland than it used to be.

Think about the first time you ever sat behind the wheel of a car as a driver.  Sitting there in the driver’s seat, seatbelt on, turning the key and feeling the rumble of the engine.  Even with as many times as you’d sat in the car with mom or dad and felt that engine hum, felt it accelerate, this time it was completely different.  This time you weren’t just feeling the revs, they purred for you.  The car now for the first time responded to your direction. It was your foot that was pushing down on the accelerator, your pushing down perhaps a bit too forcefully on the brake.  Perhaps you felt as though the speedometer must surely be broken because it said you were going 30, but you were willing to swear you were at least 85.  Did you get any of those feelings when you started up the car to come to church today?

Think about your first girlfriend or boyfriend.  Or your first date with the person who’s now your wife or husband.  Think about how you started to smile just because they walked into the room.  Think about how your heart started racing the first time they sat down next to you, and your knees or your shoulders happened to touch.  Think about how it felt the first time they held your hand.  The electricity that rand up your arm and throughout the rest of your body.  The feeling that this, just holding their hand in yours, might be the greatest thing in the world.  When’s the last time holding their hand made you feel that way?  When’s the last time you even held each others' hands as you watched a movie, or went for a walk?