There is one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity—the Man Christ Jesus. He gave his life to purchase freedom for everyone.” 1 Timothy 2:5-6a
No really…it is good. I’m a food mixer. I know some people love to keep their food separate on their plates and some folks even eat one item at a time. They will eat all their meat, all their potatoes and so on and so on. Not me. I like to to mix it up a little. In fact the best bite on the plate is always the last bite. It always has a little bit of everything on the plate. First you scrape it all together in a tidy little pile, scoop it on your fork and let it fly. Awesome.
I’m not sure how it started but one of my absolute favorite mixings is tartar sauce and Heinz Ketchup. When I order fish I always squirt a big puddle of ketchup on my plate and then mix in a helping of tartar sauce. Then you take your fork and stir it together and start dipping your fish in this magic pink sauce. All I can say is, if you haven’t tried it you need to. Not too long ago a server at a restaurant noticed my strange concoction. Without saying anything to me, she went back to the kitchen and stirred up a batch. She was soon back at my table singing the praises of the power of “pink.”
They say that things go better with Coke and fish, all kinds of fish, go better with pink. But…there is one exception. Fish and spaghetti. Ever heard of it? Well, not only have I heard of it, I have had it several times. In fact, Lord willing, tomorrow night I will be sitting down to fish and spaghetti. Now first, you need to understand it is not fish cooked in spaghetti, rather it is fish served with spaghetti. I learned of this food miracle a while back. A couple that attends our church invited my wife Judy and I over for supper. We were served fish and spaghetti and it was incredible.
To be sure this dynamic combo is not an accident. First, David is the fish cooker and the man takes frying fish to a new level. Moist and crisp at the same time…it is “shoot that thang” good. Second, Lisa makes some of the best spaghetti I have ever eaten. It is seasoned perfectly and has just a slightly different flavor then most spaghetti I have had. I fell in love that night. I am a fish and spaghetti man for life.
David is an African American and when we were discussing this duet, he assured me it was a “black thing.” I had never heard of these two things together before and he told me to ask someone…so I did. I asked another friend of mine who happens to also be African American, “So what do you eat with spaghetti?” She quickly replied, “Fish.” There you go. I have been a comfort food fanatic for over six decades and almost missed this food wonder. It is almost a food group all of its on.
Things are like that sometimes. Sometimes certain things just click together. It is as if they were meant to be together. Peanut butter and jelly. Chocolate and peanut butter. Cheese and summer sausage. Well, add fish and spaghetti to the list. And while you are listing—be sure and add Jesus and you. I have been a Jesus follower since 1975 and I am telling you He took life to a whole different level. He makes the good even better and makes the difficult more than tolerable. He is amazing. And just like fish and spaghetti if you’ve never tried Him you don’t know what you are missing. He makes life worth living.
Now understand I’m not talking about you and religion, or you and church. A relationship with Jesus is totally different from church or religion. I like church and tolerate religion but neither one of them is even close to Jesus. He is literally One of a kind. The Bible says that there is One go-between who can bring God and us together and it is the man Christ Jesus. He gave His life to purchase freedom for everyone. I hope you will get a copy of His Book—the Bible—and read about Him this Christmas season. You will discover a Man like no other who loves you like no other. He is a best friend on steroids. I admit these are crazy days we are living in—you know it and I know it. I’ve found that Jesus adds stability, peace and hope to what can be a pretty difficult existence. With Him we go from surviving to thriving. All you need to do is believe. Believe that He is who He claims to be—the God man—believe that He died on a Roman cross to pay the price for your sin, believe He came back to life and believe that if you ask He will forgive you. I took Him at His word and He is everything He claims to be. He is the real deal. And, hey, when God is your best friend you can sleep better at night and rest better in during the day. When the God who made it all is your best friend—you can believe that He’s got this…and He does.
Grits with Grace 