There is a special bond that occurs between a young child and an ice cream cone.
It is love, true love, and from the moment that first taste occurs, that child is forever changed. They become a new person and they will forever associate Ice Cream with good feelings.
Do you remember your first Ice Cream experience?
Most of us don't but without a doubt we KNOW that it was a good one because we love it today.
We took a small family getaway this past weekend to spend some time with some other family who lived in a nearby state. The kids had a blast with their Uncle Matt and Aunt Sarah and as we were preparing to wind the trip down we stopped at one of our favorite family stops.
Dairy Queen.
We don't have these where we live, so this is always a "Must stop" and like the airport in Atlanta, every flight has to route through this terminal even if the trip is miles out of the way.
We ordered the Ice Cream that the kids picked out and my youngest son wanted to share a table with his Uncle Matt and Aunt Sarah. His little eyes lit up to maximum capacity when he laid eyes on his very own "Sprinkle" laden cone. (Sprinkles are his favorite)
He clutched it in his two little hands and began devouring his cone and from the look on his face he was in a place of true Nirvana with this thing and you could see the dopamine levels spiking out of his brain with each taste.
Then the universe rocking question was posed to him by his uncle Matt.
"Hey man, can I have a bite of your ice cream cone?"
My attention was grabbed as his father, and I waited to see everything about him respond as I knew he would.
Before I tell you what happened, please let me draw an analogy.
There was a passage of scripture that stood out in a way that had not before and I want to share it with you today.
"Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." ~John 15:13
I had always thought that this verse was meaning the literal exchange of my life for someone else as in dying for them and that makes sense because Jesus did that for us on the cross, but then I have to ask the question, "Is it really a difficult thing to decide to die for someone that you love?"
Would I hesitate to take a bullet for my wife or any of my kids? The answer would be "No". That would be a obvious course of action for me to do so because dying for someone is easier than living for another person.
The question is "Am I willing to lay aside my life, my Plans, goals, dreams, or agendas for the plans, dreams , agendas, or goals of someone that I love?"
Living for someone else is a really, really tough thing to do isn't it?
What are you willing to give up for someone that you love?
The picture at the top of this post is really a very good capture of life in relation to this passage.
The Ice Cream cone is a picture of everything about you that makes you phenomenal. This would be your unique style, perspective, worldview, talents and abilities. The things about you that make you the one of a kind that you are.
It is not going to last and as time passes it melts. When the cone is gone, so are you so you live your life happy to enjoy the treat that you have been given. Life is a treat, but it is one that is melting as the moments tick by.
The table is a picture of your life. There are times when different people will share your table. Some people will sit down at the table for just as long as it will take them to get what they want or need from your cone and then they move on to other tables, and some people will want to just sit and enjoy Ice Cream together with you because out of every table in the place, they wanted to be at yours.
With everyone that makes their way to the table you will have a choice to make.
Do I share or not?
Some people will ask, and others will demand and the choice is yours, because the cone was given to you.
Sharing involves risk.
What if I share this treat only to have someone tell me that they hate the flavor or what if they won't share back? What if they love the flavor and when they share theirs it is an awesome new creation of flavor? What if they leave or what if they stay?
So we have the choice.
Can I reccomend that you share?
Take the risk because the possabilities of what you have been given making an impact far beyond you is so much greater than the safety of just enjoying your treat. It's melting, so take the risk.
The bigger thing about this choice is who it is that is asking us to make it.
It comes from the one who laid aside Himself to make us the priority.
Is my wife worth laying aside my personal plans for? Are my kids worth laying aside what i wanted to do with my time for their little games and sillyness? Don't I deserve time for me?
I give and I give and I am asking for my own times right? What if this person asking of me does not give back? What if I am just being used?
The answer to this question is found in the statement in John. Regardless of circumstances, personalities or intention on the part of those who join us at the table and regardless of their worth at out table, the statement stands out as the answer.
"Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." ~John 15:13
You have the love within you and you have the strength to express it, so my advice is this. "Take the risk".
I watched the eyes of my son and could see the wheels in his head processing this request, just as I have processed this request so many times at the table of my life.
"Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." ~John 15:13
He looked up at this person he loved and then carefully back down at his melting cone of goodness, and then while looking back at his uncle Matt, he very carefully raised the cone in both hands upwards and said, "Here you go Uncle Matt".
I knew what his response would be because i know my son, but i could not help but be a bit overwhelmed to see this simple action take place between two friends.
I have not always shared, but I have always been glad that I did once the transaction took place.
Take a look at your table today, and take a good look at those who are sitting there asking to partake of what you have to offer and decide to "Take the risk".
We were not worth the risk Jesus took when He offered Himself for us, knowing that we would not want Him, but He commended Himself toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
He gave us all of Himself so that we could "Take the risk".
Climbing with you,
~Dan
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