Eating the Old 96er!

Mike Hosey, Elder

Do you think you could eat 6 pounds of steak?

There’s a John Candy movie from the late 1980s called the Great Outdoors.  In that movie, Candy’s character is on vacation with his family.  One night they go out for dinner. His brother-in-law (played by Dan Aykroyd) coaxes him to eat a 96 ounce steak. That’s 6 pounds of meat for those of you who graduated in Tallahassee. If he finishes the steak, according to the restaurants rules, his whole party eats for free. Of course he can’t do it, but his brave attempt makes for some great comedy. This is especially true when the chef reminds him after he is sickeningly and laboriously chewing on what he thinks is the last bite, that the gristle and fat count as part of the weight! Hilariously, Aykroyd tries to get the rest down him, even though he's clearly too far gone!

The task was simply more than he could handle by himself at one single sitting.

This is kind of like leading someone to Christ. Someone who doesn’t know Jesus, God, the Holy Spirit, or the history of God’s people usually can’t take it in all at one time.  And we shouldn’t expect them to. We should go in steps, recognizing their limitations, praying for God’s power and guidance, and even expecting that our part in the process may be limited.

The Bible implies this stepwise progression in a number of places.  Paul told the church at Corinth (1 Corinthians 3:2) that they were still on spiritual milk and weren’t ready for solid food.  The writer of Hebrews (Hebrews 5:12) says pretty much the same thing.

Jesus tells us in Matthew 9:38 that the harvest requires multiple workers.  And Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 3:6 that he planted, Apollos watered, and God gave the growth – recognizing that there were steps in the journey of spiritual growth.

So how do we plug ourselves into that stepwise process?  Well, there are more steps and methods and ways than this post can address. However, in almost every circumstance, there will be two tactics you must heed.  First, you must be in relationships with people, and love them where they are just as God did for you.  And when you have mastered that difficult tactic, you will know when it is appropriate to employ the second tactic, which is sharing the reason for the hope that you have as a follower of Christ (1 Peter 3:15).

And then you can use your influence to help your friend eat that very delicious 96 ounce steak, one bite at a time!