Apricot Chicken
While I love cooking my family great meals, there are some things that tip me over the edge.
Reference: “It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God. (Acts 15:19 NIV)
Explore: For some reason I always struggle to find apricot nectar on the supermarket shelf. It’s a normal sized can with a picture of an apricot on it, however, it’s the most illusive item in the whole shop.
It’s an essential ingredient to making Apricot Chicken, which is one of my family’s favourite dishes. It’s easy to make and a taste sensation once baked.
When looking for the essential nectar I always start off in the canned fruit aisle. It seems that the supermarkets do not consider the nectar of apricot made out of fruit! Then I head into the baking section, which is a rookie mistake that I seem to make EVERY time.
Finally I arrive in the correct location, the juice aisle. You would think that I finally reach success here, but often the can is either up too high, or out of stock, that I throw my hands up in the air and give up.
While I love cooking my family great meals, there are some things that tip me over the edge. Surely there’s a meal that causes me less stress than Apricot Chicken!
Application: Our family is blessed to have a whole range of options for a meal, so removing apricot chicken from the menu is not going to affect our future. However, there are often hurdles that come into our lives which can stop us from doing really important things.
A bad mark on an assignment can stop us from trying hard with other assessments; a close friend who suddenly passes away can stop us from getting close to anyone again; a big binge on food can stop us from trying to get back on the healthy bandwagon. It’s sad when barriers get in the way of important things in our lives.
It’s even worse when these barriers did not have to be there in the first place. Often we put certain criteria in place to protect that which is important to us, and yet, that criteria often excludes others.
This happened in the early church. A new group of people were coming to faith and the older believers were struggling to adapt to include them.
There are some things in our faith that are non-negotiable. However, there is a great deal to our faith that is best practice for us. This doesn’t mean that we should judge others for not doing likewise, or exclude them for doing differently.
If there’s anything we can learn about Christ it is His constant acceptance of ALL people. Let’s not hold so tightly to our religion that we lose sight of our Saviour.
Prayer: Lord, You are more powerful than any barrier we can create, but help us to embrace people rather than push them away from Your love. Amen.
When have you experienced a barrier in your life?
This article was written by Linda Bailey
Linda started theological studies in 1999 in Australia. After working for ten years in various church ministries, she now works as the breakfast producer at 89.9 LightFM - the Christian radio station in Melbourne, Australia. She writes blogs every day about passages she is currently reading in the Bible. Follow her on Google Plus +Linda Bailey or Facebook by clicking the like button on the right of this page.