Steak/Stake

 

I am a person that likes to have a good steak every now and then and when I do, it has to be a certain way for me to enjoy it. Everyone has their own way they like their steaks prepared whether it is rare, medium rare, medium well, or well done. A steak that is rare has not gone through the fire. A steak medium rare has gone through enough only to change the outside. A steak medium well has gone through the fire enough to change the outside and some of the inside but not to completeness. A well done steak is fully seasoned and complete. Many say they prefer medium rare to medium well because the meat stays tender and juicy, or because they like that it cuts like butter.

I believe that if Jesus were choosing a steak, He would bypass the rare because it hasn’t changed. He’d bypass the medium rare because the outside is only changed. He’d bypass the medium well because the outside is changed and seasoned, with most of the juiciness coming from retaining juice/dead blood, and also because it wasn’t complete. That leaves His last choice, well done. He’d choose well done because it is seasoned and cooked thoroughly to completeness. It still has tenderness only retaining juices that should be there.

We as Christians can’t expect to call ourselves that without change. A rare Christian feels that they are just fine and that they don’t need to go through the fire to be changed. They follow their way instead of Jesus. The medium rare Christian has gone through some but is only showing the marinated outside while the inside is still the same. The medium well Christian has been changed on the outside and some of the inside, but they won’t stay in the fire long enough to be complete (they hold on to what they should let go). The well done Christian is what God is looking for. We are made just right by allowing him to season and “cook” us (go through the fire) to His perfection in our lives. We should offer up a sweet smell or savor unto God 2 Cor 2:15.

Which method of preparation would you “stake” your life on when you stand before God in the end? He already told us His choice. “Well done thou good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things; enter thou into the joy of thy lord.” Matt 25:21