Scripture
“May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ”
1 THESSALONIANS 5:23
Quotes/Color
“Sanctification is the work of the Holy Spirit in us whereby our inner being is progressively changed, freeing us more and more from sinful traits and developing within us over time the virtues of Christlike character.”
Jerry Bridges
“I am not what I ought to be,
Not what I want to be,
Not what I am going to be,
But thankful that I am not what I used to be.”
John Wooden
“How little people know who think that holiness is dull… When one meets the real thing, it’s irresistible!”
C.S. Lewis
“Low and slow…”
Every dad
Disclaimer: (Full disclosure. I actually do not know how to prepare BBQ in any shape or form. I am a poser with soft hands and no real ability to cook brisket. However, I am (1) a guy and (2) I live in Texas and (3) I love to eat brisket so I kinda have to act like I know how to even though I don’t. I hope you understand and are gracious with my hypocrisy in the below example.)
Context
Did you know that brisket is actually one of the toughest/least desirable cuts of beef in its raw form?
Ribeye and Filet Mignon, wonderful in their own right, are naturally as tender as can be. These tender cuts come from the belly or the back area of the cow – areas that don’t work as hard as say areas near the front or rear of the cow. Areas near the front and rear are always moving and thus their muscles are always being used. But cuts of meat from the belly or back area? Not so much. That is why they can handle the dry heat of a normal grill or even a pan. 5 minutes on one side, flip it over, 5 minutes on the other, *chef kiss* and you are done. The quality of the cut of meat does alot of the heavy lifting for you. So less effort is required by the grillmaster.
Brisket on the other hand… If you cooked brisket (which is a cut of meat that comes from the chest of the cow) the way you cooked a ribeye? Forget about a fork and a steak knife. You might legitimately need a chainsaw to cut into it. Straight rubber.
Traditionally, because of this reason, it in fact was not even considered a “good” cut of meat for much of history. Brisket is tough, tendony and fatty. So why not just go with the good stuff, cook the sirloin and get on with your life? It’s quicker and darn good, why even bother with anything else?
The problem was… people didn’t know how to cook it correctly until this traditionally tough and undesirable cut of meat was cooked at not a high heat over 10 minutes… but rather, a low heat over the entire day.
The result? They took the worst [option], placed it in the right environment (a low heat, all day… all night…), and it yielded what many people consider the best result you could possibly get… Low and slow cooked, moist and buttery, sliced brisket.
Application
While each of us is made in God’s image and is thus a masterpiece in God’s eyes (Ephesians 2:10)… We are also all sinners. And if you are a Christian, you need transformation and sanctification to be “progressively changed… developing within us the virtues of Christlike character” over time.
In this way, the way that we are all sinners… we are a “tough cut of meat,” needing the right environment/treatment to be what we need to be. We need to go through a certain process (sanctification) to become what we should be.
And while the temptation might be to go what we will call the route of “microwave sanctification”, the right way to go is just like Texas BBQ… “low and slow sanctification.”
Let’s look at an example of each with our example of brisket below…
Microwave Sanctification
Believe it or not… You might want to sit down for this… It is technically legal and possible to prepare brisket in the microwave. I know, blasphemy. But legal. It apparently takes around 25-50 minutes and requires many check-ins to baste and rotate the cut of meat… So is it possible? Yes. But is it a good idea by any stretch of the imagination? Absolutely not.
Microwave sanctification is impatient. It acknowledges that a change is needed from the inside out, but goes about the process in the least time-consuming and least diligent way possible.
Microwave sanctification examines any teeny-tiny erratic efforts made to grow closer to God, seldom and insincere as they may be, and wonders, “Why do I just feel in a funk? Why is my selfishness coming out yet again? Why am I not the man or woman I know God wants me to be?”
“I went to church this week. Isn’t that enough?”
“I don’t go to church any more really. But I am definitely a Christian.”
“I go to church pretty routinely actually, but my bible collects dust every day besides Sunday and sometimes Wednesday.”
An occasional visit with God is not going to free you from sin and purify your heart.
Low and Slow Sanctification
Smoked brisket, rather, is cooked at an astonishingly low 200-250 degrees and over the period of 7.5 to 10 hours. More than 20x as long as our microwave method mentioned above.
The low and slow smoke method ever… so… slowly… breaks down the fats and tendons found in brisket over those 600 minutes. Reducing and breaking them down, little by little, essentially producing an automatic “self-baste” process. Reintroducing the fats to the meat every second over 10 hours. The result? Tenderness and juiciness that could never have been accomplished over a short period of time.
3 keys to that outcome.(1) Consistency (keep that exact same temperature over a long period of time!) and (2) Patience (don’t open the grill and check it every 5 minutes!) in (3) The Right Environment (put it in the smoker… not the microwave) is the key to the transformation from tough to beautiful and perfect 😉
So let’s apply that to sanctification.
Consistency – Day in and day out time with the word. Day in and day out time in community with other believers. Day in and day out worship. Day in and day out prayer alone and with others. Day in and day out of intentional conversation about growth and walking with God, not the weather.
Patience – And understanding that a process has to be completed and cannot be outmaneuvered. Don’t “lift the hood” and wonder why things don’t look the way you want at an arbitrary moment and time. Self-inspecting like this will only discourage you and stir up doubt. Things may not look great at “hour 1”, “hour 2” or “hour 3.” But that shouldn’t detract and discourage from the process at hand. The patience of earnestly putting in the time, trusting it is fruitful is the only way to reap a good result.
The Right Environment – Time at the feet of God. Among other believers who speak new life, not Christianese cliches into your walk on a regular basis. Serving others. In time of rhythmic and consistent prayer, study and fellowship.
This is the way the worst sinner (all of us) can turn from sin and transform into a beautiful life that honors God.
Something to Chew On:
- Are you relying on inconsistent quick hits with God and expecting renewal and transformation?
- What rhythms and practices could you introduce to your life to achieve more Consistency, greater Patience or a more fruitful environment to grow with God?
- Going to church? Or going with more consistency?
- Serving others?
- Changing who you spend most of your time with?
- Spending more time with people who want to grow with the Lord?
GreatValue Proverb:
Just because you can microwave brisket doesn’t mean you should…
Hey people!!!!!
Good mood and good luck to everyone!!!!!