By Doug Bing, Washington Conference president
Growing up, my mother wanted me to learn how to cook. Many times at mealtime she would have me help with whatever was on the menu. Most of the time I really enjoyed that time and learned many little kitchen tricks she taught me.
There was one task, however, that I never really liked. Whenever she was making a dish on the stove that required constant stirring, she would often assign me to stir the pot. The stove was never set very high because she did not want the food to burn. I wanted to get it over with as soon as possible, but she would say, “Keep the burner where I have set it.”
So the stirring would begin.
Soon you could see steam rising. Then you would start to smell the delicious food as it came together. If it was gravy, you were waiting to see it thicken. Then you knew you were that much closer to mealtime.
Now, as I cook, family members will wander into the kitchen and ask, “What are you stirring?” or “What are you cooking?” Sometimes they want to dip a spoon in and taste. When it tastes good, they are ready to eat and express their thanks for the meal.
The question we could ask is this: What is stirring in your life?
The world is a stirring pot of acrimony, hatred and strife. The political world is so ideologically divided that getting anything accomplished seems nearly impossible. Social media gives everyone a megaphone to promote whatever belief they have and to argue with anyone who disagrees.
For the Christian, however, something else can be stirring.
There can be the stirring of the Holy Spirit in each life. The stirring of God leading each of us to use our talents, and even to expand them. The stirring of God calling us to follow the two great commandments: to love God with all that we have and to love our neighbor as ourselves.
When the tabernacle was being built in Old Testament times, Scripture tells us that the people’s hearts were stirred: “Then everyone came whose heart was stirred, and everyone whose spirit was willing, and they brought the Lord’s offering for the work of the tabernacle of meeting, for all its service, and for the holy garments” (Exodus 35:21, NKJV).
These people had just been rescued from slavery. They had seen God work as they passed through the Red Sea. They had witnessed His miracles. Each day they enjoyed manna from heaven, eating from God’s kitchen. They were stirred by all that God was doing for them and had already done. They had been redeemed from slavery and were on their way to the promised land.
We know they would face real struggles after this, yet in that moment they were stirred to give.
They gave what they had. As you continue reading the story of the tabernacle, you see that their gifts included both resources and time, using their talents for the glory of God. All of it was for His service.
So what is stirring in your life?
You can let the negative things in this world stir and bubble within you. Eventually, those things will leave you frustrated and burned out. Or you can let what God has done in your life stir you to give of your time, talents and treasure for His glory.