The Parable of The Sticky Buns

When I was young my mom used to make sticky buns. They were so sugary and sticky that it felt like you were going to suck the fillings right out of your teeth will you were eating them. They were like glue! They were so sticky, yet so enjoyable. Well, this story is not about them, but it IS about something just as sticky and it IS about somebody's buns. LOL!

Each year at Lifest, a Christian music concert in our area, we camp out with thousands of our brothers and sisters in Christ. The music is wonderful, the conversations are wonderful but the weather is sometimes hot and humid like it was this year.

We have developed a Lifest tradition that my friend and I take our group of campers to the office where we work so we all can take showers and smell better. This year was no exception.

Saturday morning we arrived at our workplace and went upstairs to the workout area to shower. Situation normal except we were getting new carpeting in our office and there was a carpet layer there working on the stairs so we had to walk around him.

After our showers was sat in the board room, talking about our Lifest experience. Lots of laughs and tears too as we shared our hearts with one another.

We were all hungry by that point so we set off for another Lifest tradition - breakfast at Perkins. We headed downstairs, me leading the way, talking with my friend David who was right behind me. David is like a son to me, but more on that in a moment. The others followed behind.

As we neared the bottom of the stairs we hear the voice of someone calling out in the wilderness. No, it wasn't John the baptist, it was Jim the carpet guy.

"No, no no!!!!"

I looked down and I was standing in a fresh layer of carpet adhesive. Suddenly, behind me, there was a BOOM! My friend David had slipped and fallen, right in the glue. What a mess.

The carpet guy was very nice, trying to help us to get the glue off our shoes. But he wouldn't touch David's shorts. And neither would anyone else! LOL!

David changed back into his dirty shorts and my friend Gayle took them to her daughter's house for a cleaning. While she went to put David's pants in the wash the rest of us went to Perkins. On the way there I related how we were missing the example God had just provided for us. A living example of The Gospel.

"Huh?"

Yup. I explained . . .

"As we walked down the stairs, The Father (me) was leading the Son (David). The Son sacrificed Himself for those who were following him so that they would not get stick in sin (the glue that sticks to us all)."

Then Molly added from the back seat, "Yeah! And the humble servant (Jim , the carpet guy) was washing your feet!"

"Perkins Jesus" - back, right

We laughed all the way to Perkins. It really was The Gospel!

When the hostess sat us down at our table I looked across the room. There, seated at the far table, was a man . . . with long, brown hair and a beard, wearing a linen shirt. I then told Molly and David to look over to see if they saw the same thing I did. They did and broke out laughing. They guy looked just like Jesus!

"If he's wearing sandals I'm going to lose it," I said to my friends. They looked. He was! And we laughed even harder.

On almost a daily basis, God provides us with Living examples of who He is. Whether it's in the mountains or the stars, walking down the stairs at work or at Perkins - He is teaching us.

Oh, I almost forget. The glue in David's shorts. What a perfect representation of the sins in our lives. It is only when we are "washed clean" of our sins, the glue that adheres to us in this world, can we be free to enter the presence of our Lord and Savior Jesus.

My friend used Goo-Gone to get ride of the glue on David's pants. All WE have to do is place our faith and hope in Jesus and he will make everything new, and clean.

^"16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. ¹⁷ For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”

¹⁸ The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, ¹⁹ since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. ²⁰ For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse." - Romans 1:16-20

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³⁷ When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen:

³⁸ “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!”

“Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”

³⁹ Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!”

⁴⁰ “I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.” - Luke 19:37-40
Made To Worship - Chris Tomlin