What is your favorite thing to order at a restaurant?
I enjoy eating out and trying new places...and then writing reviews about them on Tripadvisor.
Quick aside: I am in the top 1% of contributors in Calgary. I have had over 320,000 reads (way more then this blog) on my 265 reviews. I'm pretty much internet famous and you knew before I was big. I won't let it go to my head. Oh, and if you would like to follow me you can do so HERE (end of shameless plug).
So, back to restaurants. I enjoy eating out but in particular really enjoy eating out at breakfast. I am not an early riser or a morning person but breakfast restaurants make getting up worthwhile.
When it comes to breakfast at restaurants and my rating of if they are a good restaurant or not I often will use one food as my gauge: Eggs Benedict. If I am there for breakfast for the first time and it is on their menu, there is a really good chance I will be trying the Benny. In case you happen to be looking for the best eggs Benedict in Calgary, you can find it at the Blue Star Diner.
Of course to go alongside the Benny you need a good breakfast drink - OJ is the choice of champions for this.
. . . . . . .
The waiter brings by your OJ and says those words "your order will be out shortly."
Well since it is coming quickly, you may as well enjoy a few sips of the OJ. Just a few sips here, another quick sip, one more sip for good measure.
When you look down at the cup you realize it is half gone and your meal still isn't here.
The cup is half empty.
Isn't that how it often feels in life??
. . . . . . .
Life seems to find a way to be drained away. Yes there is good but it seems like those easily become overshadowed by the tough times.
Life was going well for me coming into my thirties. I had high hopes, plans, goals that would define the decade for me.
At first it didn't seem like too much was disappearing from the cup. I couldn't find a job pastoring and ended up in a warehouse - it isn't that bad. At least it is a job and I am getting paid.
The drain continued to happen - wow, its been a year and a half in a warehouse and still no signs of getting out.
And a bit more drain - I am working on my Masters and not even that is opening up doors for a job. On top of that, it is now affecting our marriage which is falling apart.
The cup starts to drain so easily and once it starts it goes quickly.
For some of us, we are faced with life and a half empty cup. For others, it seems like the cup running on empty - just a few sips left and it is all gone.
. . . . . . .
John the Baptist was in jail. It would not be a stretch to say that his cup was close to empty. He heard what Jesus was up to and sent some of his close friends to connect with Jesus.
John's friends showed up and asked Jesus for a message to give to John. Jesus shares some words for John that He would have likely heard growing up. Jesus says in Matthew 11:5-6:
‘The blind see again, the crippled walk, lepers are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised back to life, and the poor and broken now hear of the hope of salvation!’ 6 And tell John that the blessing of heaven comes upon those who never lose their faith in me - no matter what happens!”
Jesus quotes the prophets to point to the work that he is doing.
How encouraging, hey? All the work John did to prepare the way for Jesus was now happening. Blind are given sight, the poor are being cared for, dead people are even coming back to life. And to think, John got to help prepare people for this.
To the outsider this seems great: "John, you did great. Keep the faith and finish strong."
My guess is that when John heard these words he broke out in tears - and they were not happy or I feel encouraged tears.
What John heard Jesus say was actually based on what Jesus did not say.
In Jesus response to John, he is referring to well know passages like Isaiah 61:
The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me,because the Lord has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners,
The captives will be set free, prisoners released from darkness.
John is in jail. He would have a desire to be free again. Surely now that the one the prophets spoke of (Jesus) is here, he would get out of jail.
That would not be the case. Jesus did not promise a "Get out of Jail" card to John in his response.
The words instead that John would have to hold on to were "the blessing of heaven comes upon those who never lose their faith in me - no matter what happens!" (Matthew 11:6)
Poor John!
I picture him and his struggle.
Hearing that his empty cup would not be topped off.
Instead he would have to stay in prison and soon after die as part of a party favor.
. . . . . . .
How are you feeling about the cup you are carrying?
What level is your cup at?
Full?
Half full?
Close to empty?
Dry and struggling to hold on?
. . . . . . .
We get so focused on the cup and how empty it is that we lose sight of something more important:
You did not come to the restaurant for a cup of OJ, THERE IS AN EGGS BENEDICT ON THE WAY!!
Yes the cup may be empty and the struggles are real but the eggs Benny is so much better to enjoy and focus on.
. . . . . . . .
Moments before Jesus would be arrested and killed, he was in a garden praying. Listen to the words he said (Matthew 26:39):
“My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.”
Jesus had a cup that he wanted taken away.
His cup was close to empty knowing what was ahead, the suffering that he was about to endure.
Jesus never walked away from the suffering.
He did not run from what was ahead.
Because Jesus was willing to endure the cross, the cup was taken care of.
Yes, pain, struggle and pain still remain.
The focus does not need to be one these.
Jesus made it possible for us to stop focusing on the cup and to sit down and enjoy a plate of eggs Benedict instead.
Our focus can be on the hope we now have.
. . . . . . . .
When Kim and I were planning our wedding, we found out that the venue we were looking to have our reception at also had a brunch seating option.
Who doesn't love a good brunch?
Why not have a brunch for a wedding reception?
It didn't hit me at first.
We would have the typical brunch buffet: scrambled eggs, sausage, pancakes, and fruit.
Beyond this, we were given the choice to add something a bit more to our buffet menu:
 |
| Wedding eggs Benedict!! |
Yup, we had eggs Benedict at our wedding!!
In the days leading up to the wedding, I remember hearing God say to me:
Andreas, you may have had an empty cup in this last season...but there was an eggs Benedict for you.
That wedding day was truly an eggs Benedict day...a reminder that hope is possible no matter how empty the cup may have been.
. . . . . . . .
I don't know what you are going through, have gone through or will have to go through. Life is not easy and definitely comes with its struggles.
A continual focus on the cup distracts you from the hope that is yours. Jesus took care of the cup.
There is an eggs Benedict on the way!!
It is your choice what you choose to focus on - the cup or the meal.
May you hold on to hope, not losing your faith in spite of the circumstances and enjoying the eggs Benedict.
. . . . . . . .
MAKING IT REAL
There is a lot of talk about food in this post so lets start off with something practical: make yourself a nice breakfast meal. It doesn't matter if it it morning, noon or evening. It is always a good time to enjoy some breakfast foods - some eggs, bacon, pancakes, waffles or if you are truly adventurous some eggs Benedict.
Find a nice spot to sit down and enjoy your meal. Make sure to pour yourself a nice glass of something (OJ is my recommendation but if you prefer something a bit more adultish or something more like milk then go ahead).
As you sip your drink, think through your story one more time. Drink your beverage down to the level that you feel your life is at in this moment. As you enjoy the taste of your drink, listen to those words of Jesus "Not my will but yours be done." He took the cup so that it no longer had to be your problem. Look at the cup you have and the level it it filled to.
What does it mean to you that Jesus was willing to suffer and die so that your own pain and struggle would not need to be carried by you any longer?
As you enjoy your meal, ask God the following question:
Where is the eggs Benedict in my life?
I pray you hear the whisper of God as you eat and drink. May you find comfort, peace and hope regardless of the circumstances. May you feel the burden and heaviness of life be lifted off of your shoulders as you hear the invite from God saying "Sit down, lets eat together. There is room at my table for you and I am here to take care of you because I love you."
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