The Southern section of the US is known for more than just miles of sandy beaches, distinct accents, and the movie Gone With the Wind. It’s also known for its cuisine. Foods like barbecue, collard greens, and grits normally come to mind (along with ice-cold lemonade served on the front porch). But when I think of Southern fare, I tend to think of chicken sandwiches.
Chicken sandwiches?
Absolutely.
Once a year, my family would participate in the time-honored tradition of shopping for school clothes. Without exception, this meant a trip to the mall, hours of walking around, and a sit-down lunch. On one occasion, my parents introduced me to a place called Chick-Fil-A. Their chicken sandwiches were pretty good, I was told. After lunch that day, I was hooked. Maybe it was the seasonings. Maybe it was the pickles. I’m not sure. As the years went on, any trip to a mall provided another opportunity to enjoy a taste of childhood (except on Sundays, since they were closed).
Returning to college one semester, I stopped at a restaurant called Rush’s outside of Columbia, South Carolina for a quick meal. Their menu showed a picture of a chicken sandwich that looked eerily familiar to those I enjoyed at Chick-Fil-A. Instinctively, I ordered one. It came in a similar bag. It looked like the real thing. Then I took my first bite.
It wasn’t the same. Not even close. I ended up eating the sandwich, but it wasn’t as satisfying as I had hoped. I tried to substitute Rush’s chicken sandwich for Chick-Fil-A’s—and ended up deprived as a result (until my next trip to the mall, that is).
A similar situation can occur in our relationship with God if we're not careful. In this case, I’m not talking about “the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things,” although these can easily serve to draw us farther away from the Lord Jesus (see Mark 4:19). Instead, I’m referring to something more subtle—but just as dangerous. Richard Foster describes it as allowing someone to talk to God for another person.1
Think about it for a moment. An individual claiming Jesus as their Forgiver and Leader has the ability to place that relationship on auto-pilot, allowing other people’s ideas, reactions, and thoughts to become more important than God’s. The Bible becomes the second book (or worse!) turned to in times of challenge or crisis. The words of the pastor become gospel more than the actual gospel does.
If there’s any group of people that fell prey to “substitution,” it had to be the Israelites. Throughout the early parts of the Old Testament, God had direct communication with his people. Adam and Eve were on speaking terms with God before and after they ate from the wrong tree (see Genesis 3). Abraham asked the Lord questions, and the Lord answered him directly (see Genesis 15:1-6). Moses tried to get out of leading the people from slavery in Egypt, but God told him exactly what to do (see Exodus 4).
Fast forward to Exodus 15. The Israelites had just watched God destroy the Egyptian armies with one swift stroke, rendering them free again. After three days in the wilderness, they came to Marah and found water; however, it was bitter and undrinkable. Instead of asking God directly, they cried out to Moses instead: “So what are we supposed to drink?” (Exodus 15:24 [Msg]) Moses then acted as a mediator between the two and asked on their behalf. God fixed the water situation, but the role of middle-man was continually carried out through the rest of the Old Testament:
- Israel cried out in distress due to losing battles with competing nations while, at the same time, they forsook God for other so-called “deities.” The Lord provided them with judges that helped lead the country during those challenging times.
- Later, Israel told the prophet Samuel they wanted a king to be their ruler, so they could be “just like all the other nations” (1 Samuel 8:20 [Msg]). God granted their request and provided them with kings.
- In order to be forgiven of their mistakes, people had to present offerings to a priest, who acted as an intermediary between God and the individual. Once a year, on the Day of Atonement, the high priest would pass through a curtain, enter the Most Holy Place, and offer sacrifices on behalf of himself and the entire nation for their sins.
When Jesus breathed his last breath while hanging on a cross, the Bible records something amazing: “At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.” (Matthew 27:51 [NIV], underlining added) The curtain was a physical symbol of the need for a mediator to approach the Lord. Jesus’ sinless life provides us the same freedom Abraham and Moses had—to come and talk to him directly without anyone’s assistance. Direct access to God—if that’s not refreshing, I don’t know what is!
However, we must fight the constant battle of not allowing things to take that freedom away from us. We cannot live passive lives for Christ! And no amount of inspiring books, emails, songs, or sermons—although useful—can act as an acceptable substitute for encountering God directly through the Bible and prayer. Why? Because sincere encounters with the Creator of heaven and earth force us to make changes in our lives. Those changes are not always comfortable, but serve to make us more useful to the Lord.
So . . . are you communicating with God directly, taking advantage of the torn curtain Jesus provided? What is he saying to you? Are you willing to make changes in your life as a result of a true encounter with him?
Don’t settle for a substitute when you can have the real thing. And as you truly encounter the Lord God, may he refresh you through and through, so that you, in turn, can refresh others.
“Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.”
—Hebrews 10:19-22 (NIV)
“Never let good books take the place of the Bible. Don’t turn to them first in hard hours. Drink from the Well . . . Read thoughtfully, read prayerfully, and soon the Spirit of God will illuminate some verse or passage and you will find in it exactly what you most need.”
—Amy Carmichael, British missionary to India
1 Foster, Richard J. Celebration of Discipline. Harper SanFrancisco, 1998, p. 24.
All material copyright 2006 J. Alan Sharrer. No part of this email may be reproduced—other than the forwarding of the original, unaltered email message—without express written permission.
