I am pretty sure people that eat oysters probably ate their boogers as a kid. I can’t get past the slimy and gooey mess that is laid open inside its shell, brought up from the depths of murky, ocean water and served up on a restaurant table for human consumption. So, when my pastor made the following statement yesterday during his sermon, I quickly jotted it down in my notes so that I could marinate on it in regards to scripture and my relationship with Christ.
“I don’t want Christianity on the half-shell.”
For weeks now, God has had the words of “fruit” and “abide” in my spirit. I can’t seem to shake them from my brain and have meditated on them a lot in my personal prayer and study time. As I have been studying, I realized that abiding and fruit go hand-in hand. Fruit isn’t manifested unless you are abiding in Christ. It can’t grow and mature unless it is connected to the vine. Literal fruit will die, if it isn’t attached to the vine/tree and spiritual fruit cannot develop if we aren’t connected to The Vine.
Well, what does fruit have to do with oysters, anyway? A few weeks ago, I made a post about fruit and lemons, so when I started looking at pictures of oysters on the half-shell, I noticed two things:
They were on ice and they usually are accompanied by lemons.
Oysters on the half-shell are just part of the full oyster. It’s missing the other side of the shell to make it easier for that slimy booger to slide down your throat. I know that’s probably obvious with the word, “half-shell”. You aren’t having to worry about opening up the oyster which can be quite difficult. It requires a little bit of work. Thinking about that spiritually…how often are we only giving a half-hearted relationship to Christ? With any relationship, it takes effort. If we aren’t willing to crack open the scriptures and open up ourselves through prayer and communication to God, then life gets slimy. It’s hard to digest. Quite frankly, it can be a booger, figuratively speaking. When we have a relationship on the half-shell, its half-hearted.
Those half-shell oysters are raw, so they are sitting on ice to keep them cold. Now, I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to be a cold Christian. Luke 3:16 says, “John answered them all, saying, “I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.” Christians on the half-shell aren’t connected to the fire that is within them through the Holy Spirit. Listen to me…the Holy Spirit is power, my friend. Power isn’t cold. It’s hot. It’s passionate. That should be our relationship with Christ. It should be full of passion and power to honor God and we should be so warm with the spirit of God that it spoils anything around us that feeds off this cold, slimy world. That relationship on the half-shell is cold.
Then, there’s that fruit. Those lemons are used to flavor that gooey oyster before you send it slithering down your throat. Notice I said YOUR throat…’cause I don’t plan on touching them whether they got lemons for flavor or not! Fruit makes Christ appealing to this world, just like that lemon makes those oysters more appealing to the person eating them. If we are abiding in Christ, there WILL be fruit in our lives. There will be evidence to this world that they can see! If we are connected to Christ, this world will not be able to deny who we belong to, because there will be spiritual fruit in our lives that is manifested as fruit of the spirit that we read about in Galatians…”But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” (Gal. 5:22-23).
I want to be appealing to this world…don’t you? Ephesians 4:1 says, “As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.” Just in that verse along are fruits of the Spirit again! If we are walking worthy of our calling, our spiritual position will match our practical living. Our fruit will match the tree that is our life in Christ. That half-shell Christian isn’t manifesting fruit.
I refuse to have a relationship with Christ that is half-hearted.
I refuse to have a relationship with Christ that is cold.
I refuse to have a relationship with Christ that is sour.
I refuse to have a relationship with Christ that bears no fruit.
I refuse to have a relationship with Christ on the half-shell. The same power that rose Jesus from the grave lives within me through the Holy Spirit. The same Jesus that died for me, is the same Jesus that is sitting on His throne at the right hand of the God making intercession for me at this very moment. Through the Holy Spirit, I have an advocate that abides within me. He never leaves me. That gets me excited to be at His table expecting Him to do great and mighty things in me and through me. I want to take advantage of ALL that He has for me…I want more than just on the half-shell. Don’t you?
