American BBQ
- Mar 18
- 5 min read
When I arrived in Germany, to my surprise I was bombarded with many questions: Do I like the President of America? What's my favorite state? And which country is better? These questions became typical from each new person that I met.
One day, however, I was asked something that really made me feel like I was at home. My new friend, Simon, asked if I knew how to do American-style Barbecue. Smiling from ear to ear, I said, "Of course!" I am known as the grill-master at home amongst my wife and my children who can barely speak. My wife had even got me a grill set for Father's Day which brought more credibility to this statement.
I began to explain to him the process of grilling meat the American way --- which by many is considered the only way -- from the marinating of the meat, all the way to the temperature that the meat should be cooked. It wasn't long before I was invited over to put into practice what I was preaching to him.
As I spoke, I couldn't help but daydream about the smell of a good BBQ. When food is being grilled right, the smell can permeate the atmosphere of an entire neighborhood and I've learned that one of the best methods of making friends in a new place is inviting them over for food.
Much similar to the impact of the smell of a juicy steak on a neighborhood, a true Christian should have the same impact on their community. A cold, seasoned steak that has not yet been placed on the grill is not appetising enough to even draw many flies. However, when the grill is heated to extreme temperatures and the meat is lying completely flat on its surface, it doesn't take long before the men and the bears come running.
This is the impact that a life completely surrendered to Jesus has on the people and the environment around it. Oftentimes we see in the Bible that it is not until people are put into the flames or trials of life that Christianity truly begins to take form. We see in Daniel 3 that once the flames increased, Jesus became visible to the men inside the fire and the men outside watching.
23 And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell down bound into the burning fiery furnace. 24 Then Nebuchadnezzar the king [saw and] was astounded, and he jumped up and said to his counselors, Did we not cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered, True, O king. 25 He answered, Behold, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they are not hurt! And the form of the fourth is like a son of the gods! ~Daniel 3:23-25 AMPC
In the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego that it was not until the heat was increased that the smell of their dedication and commitment created a contagious fragrance that would spread like a wildfire throughout an entire kingdom.
28 Then Nebuchadnezzar said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, Who has sent His angel and delivered His servants who believed in, trusted in, and relied on Him! And they set aside the king’s command and yielded their bodies rather than serve or worship any god except their own God. 29 Therefore I make a decree that any people, nation, and language that speaks anything amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego shall be cut in pieces and their houses be made a dunghill, for there is no other God who can deliver in this way! 30 Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the province of Babylon. ~ Daniel 3:28-30 AMPC
A similar story appears in the New Testament after the death of Stephen. Saul, assuming that the death of Stephen would quench the newly lit flame of the Church, only started a wildfire that would eventually engulf him as well. We see that in his pursuit to extinguish the flame of Christ, He Himself was burned .
19 Meanwhile those who were scattered because of the persecution that arose in connection with Stephen had traveled as far away as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, without delivering the message [concerning [a]the attainment through Christ of salvation in the kingdom of God] to anyone except Jews. 20 But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who on returning to Antioch spoke to the Greeks also, proclaiming [to them] the good news (the Gospel) about the Lord Jesus. 21 And the presence of the Lord was with them with power, so that a great number [learned] to believe (to adhere to and trust in and rely on the Lord) and turned and surrendered themselves to Him. ~Acts 11:19-21 AMPC
Much similar to salt that seasons meat for the grill, it is the blood, sweat, and tears of the martyrs that has seasoned the testimony and credibility of the Church. This is why even Jesus Himself says that extreme dedication, or heat, is required because a Church without the heat is like meat without a grill -- tasteless.
In the western parts of the world, we have tried to do church in a way that requires little commitment and even smaller devotion. Unfortunately, it has turned a lot of potential candidates for the Kingdom into vegans, not wanting God because His church has become tasteless.
33 So then, any of you who does not forsake (renounce, surrender claim to, give up, [j]say good-bye to) all that he has cannot be My disciple. 34 Salt is good [an excellent thing], but if salt has lost its strength and has become saltless (insipid, flat), how shall its saltness be restored? 35 It is fit neither for the land nor for the manure heap; men throw it away. He who has ears to hear, let him listen and consider and comprehend by hearing! ~Luke 14:33-35 AMPC
We must go back to the devotion and commitment of the first disciples in order to see the revival of the Church. A church without committed disciples is not a church but rather a religious social club following down the same road of destruction as the pharisees. Much similar to the anticipation that arises as our stomachs growl longing for the potential food at a bbq, the whole earth is groaning in eager anticipation of true servants of God.
19 For [even the whole] creation (all nature) waits expectantly and longs earnestly for God’s sons to be made known [waits for the revealing, the disclosing of their sonship]. ~Romans 8:19 AMPC
For the sake of our own souls and the very purpose of Christ, we must present ourselves as a living willing sacrifice to the One who has sacrificed it all for us. This type of commitment has the power to make men, women, the ocean, and even the sun stand at attention.
Question of the day: Can your neighborhood smell you?
