- Where - Community Barbeque event
- Objective - low key and aimed at pointing people to a church or evangelistic course, or at least begin to ask questions
Competitive Barbequing or grace?
Thanks to the Barbequers - fantastic. Bet they are glad they weren't doing competitive barbequeing. Yes, believe it or not the USA have a 'competitive barbequeing' competition. Infact, a series of them! With team names like the 'Big Daws of BBQ', 'Pig Newton', 'Beverley Grillbillies', 'Y' et yet BBQ' (if you can't work it out - 'You eat yet BBQ'!), this growing sport has around 3000 teams that cook at 500 different sanctioned 'cookoff' venues. And they are not messing around. These are serious affairs with cooking starting 12 hours before judging!
Oh - and I'm sure you would want to know - the world champion is called the 'Baron of BBQ'.
It never fails to amaze me how we can have serious (!) competitions for anything. For example, this year (2007) holds the 24th annual 'Pooh Sticks' championship. Or if that is not your cup of tea you could try Chessboxing! ...Yep, chessboxing! 1 round of boxing followed by a round of chess followed by boxing etc. The ultimate in physical and mental competition. Or there is the world stareing contest, or even Toilet seat throwing!
We really do have a competition for everything. Mostly it is fun – or a complete waste of time but there is something about our personalities that likes competition. Likes to try to prove itself, or improve itself. To be the best – show itself to be good or have met the standard. And I think we are like that becasue, actually, life is like that – it can feel like a competition.
At times, in order to do anything, it feels like we have to prove we have the right qualifications, have met the standards. Whether it is studying at university, our first job, receiving free treatment at the Dentist, getting Job seekers allowance, buying a drink in a pub or getting into another country with your passport - you have to prove your self - convince someone else of you authenticity, or that you deserve it.
On one occasion I went away with my wife on holiday. On the return journey, having gone through the passport check and waitingto board the flight she realised her passport was out of date! Would they let her back in the country?! Just imagine how she felt!
Well actually, we know how she felt.
Even on a personal level we feel like we have to keep up appearances, keep up with those around us. We have to meet peoples expectations of us - whether friends, family, work colleagues or even the government. And it is tough. This is so much the case that we begin to think everything works like that - everything is earnt, dependent upon me, what I am like and how I behave.
And we think God is like that too. We picture him as a white haired old man with a big stick who looks disapprovingly at us and waits to wack us when we disappoint him. It feels like he has placed a toilet seat in our hands and expects us to land it on the post 80 yards away or else... Even if we don't believe in God, that is the image we have probably rejected of him. He makes us feel like my wife at the customs office - waiting to be found out.
Well, let me tell you, God is not like that. The Bible says that God is the one who has “qualified you” (Colossians 1:12)to share in the inheritance. Yes – there is a standard to meet to enjoy the benefits of a relationship with God. But you don’t have to meet it. For you it is a free gift. No strings. Jesus once said that he "did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." (Mark 10:45)
We have each rebelled against God - lived lives ignoring him or shaking our fists at him. We, by rights should be fearful of meeting him at the customs desk. But because he sent his Son to serve us - to offer us forgiveness - grace we can face him with confidence knowing he has qualified us, the qualification met by another on our behalf.
Interested...?