Why are we always waiting for an excuse to “use the good silver”? We wait for the right moment, the perfect occasion, the celebration to end all celebrations and when it arrives, we are still sometimes reluctant to bring it out of its safe hiding place at the bottom of the cedar chest or china cabinet. When we finally decide the occasion is worthy of “the good silver” we spend excessive amounts of time meticulously polishing and situating each piece in its proper place on the table, that we no sooner get everything set out and it is time to put it away again.
How did your family’s silver become “the good silver”? When great grandma (insert your own family name here) left it to you in her Will, was there a usage clause that deemed it “the good silver, only to be used on certain days for certain occasions”? Did the clause read something like this; “The ‘good silver’ can only be used on occasions where there are more than five(5) family members present, it must ALL be used or NONE can be used, and most importantly no matter what happens it MUST be on the table for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter.” I would venture to say that is not the case. I would imagine that great grandma never thought of it as “the good silver” but just as the silver, used everyday to serve meals to her family, to butter great grandpa’s toast at breakfast and cut his meat and potatoes at supper. It is my thought that the silver hasn’t been passed down from generation to generation so it can sit in a box and only be used a few times a year but that it was intended to be used time and again, for the special occasion of having food enough to eat and family with which to share it!
I think we often treat the Word of God in the same way we treat “the good silver”. It is special and important to us and we don’t want anything to happen to it so we only bring it out when the occasion calls for it. Instead of searching for the right occasion to share the Word of God we should treat it more like the everyday silver, using it daily because the special occasion is not a particular holiday; the special occasion is that this powerful, amazing, and everlasting Word needs to be shared with a hurting world now more than ever. The special occasion is that you are fortunate enough to know the story and are given the opportunity time and time again to share it with others.
As this holiday season quickly accelerates into full swing, remember the occasion is now, the time is right, USE THE GOOD SILVER! SHARE THE GOOD WORD
Fits into "eat dessert first," I believe. Use the good stuff - the Word - first. Before all the other stuff that gets in the way.
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