Let's Go To The Buffet

John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life."

I love to go to a buffet. Surprisingly, not so much that I can eat all that I want, but more so because of the variety. I can get a little of this and a little of that and then look for something even different, if there is still some room. I mention that because one of the highlights of our missions conference is the "International Dinner" where we ask people to breakout their recipes from other countries. You know, so that we can get a good dose of international heartburn. It is always interesting to see what they come up with and always very tasty as well. One might think that we do that just to have an excuse to get together and eat. And, though there may be some truth to that, it is also a subtle reminder that these dishes represent foreign countries, where people live differently that we do. Many of them do no have the freedom that we have to even enjoy an event like this. Many of them do not have an opportunity, as we do, to hear a clear cut presentation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. They live in a different culture with different ideas about what their future holds. They look different from us. They speak different from us. They think different from us. Yet, with all of these differences, we all have one common need in life. That, of course, is the need to be saved from our sinful nature that has separated us from a Loving and Holy God. We are privileged to know this truth and to know how to reconcile that separation. They, on the other hand, do not. As we taste their cuisine, I hope we will remember that it represents someone who is hungry for the Gospel and do our part to ease that hunger.