Broccoli and Ice Cream

When our son was a wise fourth grader, he developed a major sweet tooth. He wanted to eat ice cream, cake, cookies. When his complaints about balanced meals got out of hand, we invited him to a week of cookies only.

He picked out his own cookies from the grocery store aisle and settled in for 7 days of bliss. For breakfast, he balanced an Oreo in each hand. He carried his lunch to school: a bag of chocolate chip cookies. Supper was chocolate mints and marshmallow wafers.

By the third day, he had flunked his swimming test and was swimming in tears at school. He couldn’t concentrate in class and forgot to do his homework. We ended the bliss early.

I think churches sometimes long for the week of cookies as well. When we’ve been injured or stressed, isn’t it our nature to seek out healing and rest? Somehow, rest means indulgence.

We want ice cream when we need broccoli. We need the means to grow, the veggies of healing. Today, nurses don’t let surgery patients lie in bed for two weeks. The medical world has discovered light exercise from the start aids healing. A walk down the hall is worth a week’s worth of bedrest.

I met a pastor recently, new at his church, which was seeing tremendous growth and outreach. I asked him what the church had done in the two years they were waiting on a pastor. He said they stayed faithful to what God had given them to do. They kept on the broccoli and exercise.

Now think about a church that has endured a painful trauma. What is its instinct? To rest, to heal, to go into hibernation. What would the nurse have them do?

Take a walk down the hallway.

"No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God."

Luke 9:62