In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.” Matthew 5:16
Poached eggs. For some reason they have never made it on my list of favorite things. It could be the name. When something is poached it usually means it was taken by some illegal means. Well, now that I think of it…maybe the name does fit. To me, unless it was Easter or Momma was making egg salad sandwiches, eggs were cooked in grease not water. I can vaguely remember something about my mom cracking an egg and dropping it into some water…no wait, maybe that was teabags. At any rate, the thought of eating an egg that had just been floated around in some water like a jelly fish never, ever, crossed my mind. Grease and eggs…eggs and grease…a match made in heaven.
However, interestingly enough, not everyone is like me. One of my best buds actually likes poached eggs. Of course, you must take in consideration that he also likes sugar on his grits. But anyway, you read it right–he really likes them. So, we were having this discussion about how to cook eggs (don’t all guys have those discussions?) and his passion for poached eggs boiled to the top–no pun intended. So how did he become such a fan of poached eggs? Well, here’s the deal.
It turns out that his grandmother was a really big fan of poached eggs. Anytime he (or another family member) went to her house, it was time for poached eggs. Over and over again, “Hey, you want me to cook you a poached egg?” That standard answer was, “No Grandma, that’s ok.” Apparently, she was insistent because the standard answer was, “Sure you do, let me whip one up for you.” And, before long, a nice, wiggly kinda cooked egg was sitting before him. Well, before long he was sorta, kinda brain washed and before long he was hooked. Now that I think about it, I wonder if he had an aunt that liked sugar on her grits? Hmmm.
So, the long and short of it is, all these years later–he still likes poached eggs. Truth is, if it wasn’t for Grandma’s passion, he wouldn’t be such a fan–but her passion became one of his. That really says a lot about influence and legacy. You see, we are all influencers…whether it is food, habits, or speech. I know Judy and I, being from the South, don’t press buttons…we mash them. Wonder where that came from? We don’t give people a ride to the store, we “carry” them. Oh, and no I don’t eat sugar on my grits…and apparently neither did my relatives.
You know that passion thing is true about eggs, but it is also true about God. It seems that things that we are passionate about are the things that end up in the lives of those around us…especially those closest to us. The bottom line is what we are passionate about is contagious. The more passionate we are about God the more likely it will be caught by someone else. It might be our kids, grandkids, or the guy next door but our faith should be highly contagious. Someone once said, “our faith is more easily caught than taught.” There is so much truth in that.
The truth is, I don’t know how you like your eggs–but it just might be similar to the way your momma or daddy liked them. Let’s be so passionate about God and our faith that someone can’t be around us without being infected–uh, make that affected! Jesus said in His Sermon on the Mount, “In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.” In other words, make sure that what we do and how we do it, reflects favorably on you…but most importantly, on God. I’m sure God is not a fan of poached eggs, but I do know He is a fan of yours. Don’t worry, He’s got this…poached or not. Bro. Dewayne
Grits with Grace 