I love MOD Pizza. Right before the stay at home order was issued, I went to MOD for the very first time (I know, have I been living under a rock?!?!?!?). For those of you unfamiliar with MOD Pizza, it is like a buffet for a pizza – you choose ANY topping you want. You could literally get every meat they offer on your pizza, doubled up for an artery clogging behemoth ready to test your will and the elastic band on your super flex jeans for one low cost.
(This is not a sponsored post for MOD . . . I swear!)
While it’s fun to get loads and loads of toppings, my favorite part about MOD is what you DON’T have to get. In my big family, it is rare that everyone gets the pizza they like. It seems like every pizza place has specials that look delicious except for a few ingredients. The Papa Murphy’s Cowboy is GREAT, except for the sausage Hannah doesn’t like! Audrey and I love olives and mushrooms, but everyone else becomes near nauseous at the sight of the pizza obscenities. Don’t get me started on pineapple. We end up buying a lot of Pepperoni!
While I love having exactly what I choose without anything I wouldn’t prefer, this creates a recipe for disaster when applied to our Christianity. Christianity is an order with no substitutions. Peter today reminds readers that,
. . . for these trials make you partners with Christ in his suffering, so that you will have the wonderful joy of seeing his glory when it is revealed to all the world.
If we want to partner with Jesus in His Glory, we MUST partner with Jesus in His suffering. Jesus calls us to apprentice to His ways. Jesus was not concerned with his own comfort; he was only concerned with His mission.
28 For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Matthew 20:28 (NLT)
His mission was to serve others, even to the point of His own death. We are invited to participate because we are his APPRENTICES. To apprentice to Jesus is to apprentice to all of Jesus. It would be like entering a plumbing apprenticeship and exclaiming, “This sounds good, but I don’t work around water . . .” Author and Pastor Mark Sayers says it like this,
We want the Kingdom of God, without the KING.
Mark Sayers, “This Cultural Moment”
It’s tempting to want all of the blessings of God without participating with His Lordship. Today, allow the Holy Spirit to direct your thoughts to the ways in which you are picking and choosing your Christianity. Is there an area of your life that is unsubmitted to the Lord? Allow Jesus’ example to bolster you in your commitment to participating fully with Jesus.
As a reminder, here are our steps for S.O.A.P.:
- Find a quiet place and read the SCRIPTURE of the day. Read it again. Read it slowly. Read it out loud!
- What OBSERVATIONS did you make? What does this passage teach you about God or yourself? Are there any calls to action? Do you have any questions?
- How will you make APPLICATION of this scripture and live your life differently today in light of what you just read? Be specific!
- Let it marinate. Take some time for PRAYER – thank God, confess any shortcomings, and ask to be empowered. Sit for a few moments and see if God has anything else for you.
Here is our passage for the day:
13 Instead, be very glad—for these trials make you partners with Christ in his suffering, so that you will have the wonderful joy of seeing his glory when it is revealed to all the world. 14 If you are insulted because you bear the name of Christ, you will be blessed, for the glorious Spirit of God rests upon you.
1 Peter 4:13–14 (NLT)