Feast on Grace Friday: Eating All of Your Lucky Charms
   Some things never change.  I remember trying to eat Lucky Charms as a little kid and I would pick out all the marshmallows and leave behind the oats (if you can call what's left behind something that healthful).  So, here's a picture of my own son's attempt at the same thing.  As you can see, we have pretty much the same result.  Even the fact that a picture of Cookie Monster was waiting at the bottom of my bowl couldn't even help me get through the "plain" pieces of the Lucky Charms wallowing in my lukewarm milk.  

   Sometimes we treat the Gospel the same way.  For example, take a passage like: "Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well" (Matthew 6:33).  We treat "His kingdom and his righteousness" at the beginning of the passage as the "plain", uninteresting pieces of the meal.  This is the good news of his life, death, and resurrection for us.  It is the good news that Jesus' blood shed for us has changed our status before God from enemy to dearly loved child!  
   As life changing and nourishing for our souls as that is, sometimes we like to leave that behind and just pick out the temporary things that the Gospel can do for us in this life.  The second part of the passage: "all these things will be given to you as well," is like the sweet blessings the Gospel can bring into your daily life.  It can be a huge blessing to your marriage, your parenting, your relationships, your daily work, your attitudes, etc.  Those are good things (like the marshmallows in your Lucky Charms), but they are not the only thing.
   I hope you have made it to the point in your life where you are able to eat ALL of your Lucky Charms.  But even if you never do, I pray that you appreciate ALL that the Gospel is. It's not just a tool to get blessings and success in this life.  It is your salvation.  It is what has created faith in Jesus in your heart, and it is what strengthens that faith.  It isn't luck, but God's grace. And, it is WAY more nourishing than a bowl of Lucky Charms :)
   The funny thing is that sometimes when we are little and have a hard time eating ALL of our Lucky Charms, we actually understand the sweetness of the Gospel better than when we are older and able to eat all of our Lucky Charms.  So, the next time you face a bowl of Lucky Charms, think about all that the Gospel is... And brush your teeth really well afterwards, too :)