A pair of In-N-Out cheeseburgers. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Standing in line at a fast food place, a person considers what they want to eat.  When it is their turn to render their order they are asked if they want this order to go or to eat in.  For most of us this is a no brainer.  But I confess that sometimes I have to think it through.  “Do I have time to just sit here in the noise and prying eyes to eat this?”  I rarely sit at a table to eat.  Usually I brave the spilled drink and dripping catsup behind the wheel of my car.  Somehow the meal tastes better if I sit in the car (alone).

An object lesson is about to unfold here.

Christians go to the Lord to appropriate a certain peace from being near the Prince of Peace.  Much like ordering a meal, we encounter the Lord to gain what we don’t have.  We spend a few coins of faith and receive a bounty of peace on our plate.  With a good sized drink of hope, we walk away from the “counter” of prayer to live our lives.

There are three kinds of “eaters” in this parade of prayer.  There are those who will sit near the place of “order”, eat what they have been given, enjoy the company of others, soak in the ambiance of the place, then go out into the world to accomplish what that “meal” dictates is true and good.  They are in the presence of that “Great Cloud of Witnesses”.  And they love their company.

There are those who make the order “to go”.  They cast up words to the Lord just like you would order a meal at a fast food place.  Once they get what they wanted they grab the bag and head for the door.  They’re so busy that, even as they eat it, they hardly notice the flavor.  To them this meal of peace and hope is just a function of their busy lives.  Though they are fed, to them it’s just an ordinary meal.  Somehow they have missed the fellowship aspect of prayer.  And they’re not putting themselves in a position to encounter it.

Then we have a very curious group.  I suspect there are far more of this last group than the other two.  They ask and receive just like the others.   But they differ because they are a mix of  “stay and go”.  They order to stay.  So they get the tray and all its fixings.  They sit for a moment, take a bite and a sip.  Then they grab their stuff and head for the door.

These people know the place was prepared to give comfort and joy to those who purchase here.  They feel compelled to listen to the beautiful music.  They let their bodies enjoy the soft seats, clean tables, beautiful lighting, and the aroma of joy this place provides.  But they don’t feel worthy to remain.  It’s kind of like they don’t really belong here, yet they know they should.

They are caught between accepted and rejected.  And their lives are filled with a curious internal war.  They believe what the Lord has said regarding His forgiveness.  But they are so filled with sinful tendencies that they have a seriously hard time associating that promise to themselves.   Bottom line, it is a certain love for sin that causes this turmoil.  But there is a certain love for the things of the Lord too.  There’s no need to judge them.  They do that to themselves all day long.  And, in the end, God will determine their standing.  I sense it will go well for them.  But there are questions, aren’t there.

I would love to be of that first group.  I loathe being of the second.  Yet I sure enough find myself part of the third.  I guess we all encounter the Lord of Peace as we do.  We work hard on remaining in His presence while we eat what He provides.  And who knows, He might even come around the corner while we’re there and sit with us a while.  Those who leave stand no chance of that happening.  Perhaps this is what the third group is looking for.  “Maybe if I sit here I’ll catch a glimpse of He who provides.  Maybe He will smile at me.  Maybe He would even come and sit with me.  I’m just not absolutely sure He loves me.”  Isn’t this what goes through the mind of most Christians?

How good it would be if we all just sat to enjoy what He has provided.  But this isn’t the usual manner of faith in this world, is it.