I love comeback stories. Who doesn’t. The underdog. The outcast. From benched to the best.
The National Football League and Major League Baseball recognize the athlete that best defines an athletic comeback each year.
With Thanksgiving in the rear view mirror, I’ve come to believe that one of the most noteworthy comebacks in our present day belongs to a vegetable. Perhaps you’ve thoughtfully observed something similar. Menus across the country included the most traditional items this past year… but making a strong and unexpected showing were Brussels sprouts.
In fact, the finest and hippest restaurants in Denver boast of fine variations and adaptations that include this edible bud. But who would have thought it was possible?
Certainly not me. I recall gagging my way through meals with these little balls on my plate. But to be fair, something has happened to this vegetable that transcends my aging taste buds and the gravitational tug to do what old people do… repeat the misguided perspectives of their parents.
No, Brussels sprouts have been reinvented and revitalized. My memory of these boiled blobs rolling around on my plate was that they carried an unappealing odor that was only eclipsed by their texture and taste.
Enter comeback. Enter roasted, grilled or sautéed varieties that collaborate with onions, bacon, olive oil, and a plethora of fresh herbs and spices. Good-bye boiling water, hello beautifully browned outer leaves and tantalizing tastes.
Is there a better vegetable story? Is there any other green orb that has risen to the top of the charts from the depths of oblivion and disdain? I think not.
From tasteless to palate pleasing.
Is it possible that Christians today are viewed like the Brussels sprouts of the 1960’s and 1970’s? Boiled. Unattractive. Tasteless. Irrelevant.
I think so. I fear so.
But wait, this is not what we were called to be. This isn’t what Jesus had in mind. No, His powerful and inspirational words in John 10:10 say; “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”
We’re to be a highlight on the menu. Roasted not boiled.
What if we, as followers of Jesus the Christ, decided that we wouldn’t pride ourselves on being the most distasteful thing on the menu?
Our culture thinks of us as boiled blobs… when our Savior has declared that we’re the seasoning that makes life come alive.
Roasted, sautéed… combined with spices and herbs. Alive. Rich. Beautiful and full of taste.
It’s time for a comeback. It’s time for new recipes. It’s time to be what God created us to be.
Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good! (Psalm 34:8a)
“You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet.” (Matthew 5:13)
Let’s confront the misconception.
Hello beautifully browned outer leaves and tantalizing tastes.
Hello followers of Jesus.
It’s time to shake up the menu.
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