It's Always Been About the Guac

Since this week Fellowship Church is beginning to read together through the book of Ephesians, I thought a passage from Ephesians 4 would be appropriate for today because it talks about the way that we all work together as part of God’s church.

Ephesians 4:11–16 (NIV)

Ephesians 4:11–16 NIV

11 So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12 to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. 14 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. 15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. 16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

I sometimes wonder why it is that God did not just make a guacamole tree right from the beginning in the garden of Eden. I imagine it would grow naturally right next to the tortilla chips tree. Instead, we have all these separate ingredients. And sure, God did make all of these things as part of his creation. God created onions, and God created garlic, and God created cilantro, and God created limes, and God created salt. Those are all parts of the natural world which God spoke into being.

But people rarely if ever eat any one of those things all alone by itself. So, God made onions when he brought forth plants on the earth. But nobody just picks up and eats an onion. And God made garlic when he brought forth plants on the earth. But nobody just picks up and eats garlic. And God made cilantro when he brought forth plants on the earth. But nobody just picks up and chomps on a stalk of cilantro. And God made limes when he brought forth plants on the earth. But nobody just picks up and eats a lime all by itself. And God made salt when he brought forth rocks and ground of the earth. But nobody just shovels and spoon full of salt into their mouth.

It's not that way with some other foods. This time of year is perfect for picking an apple right off the tree and eating it right like that. Or vegetables like beans and corn and broccoli are cooked and pretty much eaten as is. So, what’s up with God making things like onions and garlic and cilantro and limes? Is it some sort of joke that God would tell Adam and Eve to eat from all the plants in the garden (except that one tree), and then have some of these plants that just taste awful? Why would God do that? So again, I wonder why God didn’t just make a guacamole tree right from the start.

Because I think that God’s intended perfect plan and purpose for onions and garlic and cilantro and avocados and cilantro and lime has always been meant for guacamole the whole time. I think God always knew from the moment of creation that when these ingredients are all taken and mixed together, it would be perfect—even though nobody would especially care to eat any one of them all alone by itself. I think in the mind of God it’s always been about the guac—not just an onion for the sake of an onion, or cilantro for the sake of cilantro, and so on. God knew how awesomely delicious these things would be when they all mix together. How could he not know that?

But why hide that? Why keep it a secret? If God wasn’t going to just make a guacamole tree right from the start, why not at least include a book in the Bible that is just recipes? God had to know how good this is; why not give a clue to Adam and Eve right from the start about what to do with these things? Why did he hold that part back when making the world? In Genesis 1 God says this,

Genesis 1:27–28 (NIV)

Genesis 1:27–28 NIV

27 So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. 28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”

Fill the earth and subdue it. Some English translations of that Bible passage say “have dominion.” It is the Hebrew word kabash which is also translated elsewhere as press, squeeze, knead—as in kneading bread dough. In other words, work something together from this world, cultivate it, develop it, do something with it. Or maybe think of it this way, God created all the potential of everything in this world that is needed for perfect guacamole, but he left it up to us to discover that part for ourselves. God created a universe with amazing potential packed up and folded inside of it. And what he told Adam and Eve in the garden at its creation was to go out and start unpacking and unfolding all that amazing potential that God placed into his creation.

why does God give us each different gifts and abilities? (see vs 12-13)

Start picking some of those ingredients and mixing them together and see what you get. Because God put everything that is needed for guacamole out there in the creation just waiting for us to bring it all together. It’s always been about the guac. The creation has always been about you and I as God’s people discovering the amazing potential that God has packed and folded into the world, and then doing something with it. And what is it that we are really supposed to be doing with what God has given us in this world. There are many ways to answer that question, but I want us to consider just one of those today. And that brings us back to what the apostle Paul says in Ephesians 4. Some are apostles, some are prophets, some are evangelists, some are pastors and teachers, in order to do what? Look again at verses 12-13

Ephesians 4:12–13 (NIV)

Ephesians 4:12–13 NIV

12 to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

we are each different ingredients

Reaching the fullness of Christ that God intends for your life is something that we all do together in unity with other believers. And we each have a part in that. But notice the way that Paul slices this up in a passage like Ephesians 4. We all have a part, but each one of our parts is different. Or maybe we can think of it this way, some of you here today are onions, some of you are garlic, some of you are cilantro, some of you are limes. If your part in God’s church is to be an onion, then there is not much you produce all by yourself on your own that tastes very good. But when you get together with all the rest of God’s people, and all those other flavors of the different people in God’s church mix together, something amazing happens. Each of us on our own is rather limited in what we can ever do with what we have been given by God. But when all of us together take what we have been given by God and we all bring those things together and entrust it to God together, the church becomes a guacamole that I think God had in mind the entire time.

Hebrew kabash = press, squeeze, knead, subdue, have dominion

But this process of going from ingredients to guacamole takes some work and puts us through a certain amount of necessary kabash (remember that Hebrew word?). In order for the best flavors to all come together into a guacamole, individual ingredients need to be chopped up and diced, some things need to be pressed and squeezed, the rough edges and bad parts need to be cut off and thrown aside. Sometimes this process of allowing God to take us as we are and move us along in faith to become what he desires for us to be is not always fun and games. Sometimes following God in faith can feel like being diced and chopped and squeezed and pressed. But the only way we fit into the recipe of God’s design for how we fit with the rest of his people means some transformation is necessary. Jesus says it like this in the gospels,

Mark 8:34–35 NIV

34 Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 35 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it.

If moving forward in a life of faith together with God’s people doesn’t change who you are, then you don’t get very far. If I went into the kitchen and placed out a bowl, and into that bowl I set an onion, and a lime, and an avocado, and a tomato, and a jalapeño, and some cilantro—if I just set those things into a bowl and served it like that, it wouldn’t be guacamole. It’s all the right ingredients. Everything is there that comes together to make guacamole. But only by mashing and mixing together do those things become guacamole.

Greek katartismos = equip, prepare, mend

each person here has something to offer to the recipe of God’s mixture in this place and among this community

I don’t want this life of faith to sound like something awful. Taking up your cross and following Jesus in faith is not just about being pressed and squeezed. Let’s remember also what Paul says in Ephesians 4—that God places us together in this in order to be equipped (prepared, mended together) to reach the whole measure of fullness in Christ. Here is what that means for us; that each person here has something to offer to the recipe of God’s mixture in this place and among this community. You may not always feel like something of great value in that recipe, but God has brought you into the ingredient list here for a reason.

public profession of faith benefits the people of God’s church

This is why public profession of faith is so important for us. I know nothing magical happens to your faith now that you take this step of profession of faith. I understand that what you know and believe about God would be exactly the same whether you stand up here and publicly profess it or privately keep it to yourself. After all, God knows your heart, he knows your faith. Does anything of that change just because you stand up here and publicly say so in church? I don’t think so. Why do we do it then? Why make faith something that you publicly profess? It is not really for your benefit; and it is not really for God’s benefit either—he already knows what you believe. It is for the rest of us; it is for the benefit of God’s church. You stand here today and what you tell us when you profess your faith publicly is that you are ready to join the recipe; you’re ready for God to stir you into the guacamole. We hear about your faith and see the gifts and abilities God has given to each one of you and we all declare that you are exactly the ingredients we need. Because maybe we were getting a bit too sour and needed something to sweeten us up a bit. Maybe we were getting a bit too bland and needed a spicy kick. What you add into God’s church is something we need to hear and see and know about.

Jesus makes sure that our faith comes to him already having been cleaned and purified

You didn’t see the prep work I did back in the kitchen before this service. All the ingredients that went into this guac were washed and prepared and made ready. I couldn’t just pull an onion out of the ground and start mixing it in. it’s too dirty. First the ingredients have to be washed and cleaned. I make sure the knife and board and bowl and sanitized. I clean my hands with disinfectant wipes. Jesus makes sure that our faith comes to him already having been cleaned and purified. Jesus gave himself on the cross so that you and I are perfectly acceptable before the heavenly Father. Jesus rose from the grave and marked us with the seal of his Holy Spirit so that our place before God will never rot or go bad or lose its value. Jesus has done everything so that your faith can be in exactly the right place.

only together in unity with Christ can we ever reach the whole measure of fullness in Christ

So get to it. Keep unfolding and unpacking all the incredible potential God has placed into the world around you. Keep pursuing all that God gives to you. And above all, keep doing this together with one another. Because only together in unity with Christ can we ever reach the whole measure of fullness in Christ.