Missing Ingredient?

Have you ever cooked something and after tasting it thought you had left something out? This happened to me this weekend at She Speaks, a conference that encourages and equips women in ministry. At the conference, I was given the opportunity to participate in a speaker evaluation group. Each person in the group presented a 3 minute testimony and a 5 minute teaching session. Before the conference, I searched the scripture and was confident I heard from the Lord on what He wanted me to share.

After I shared, I knew the word had been presented well. But, the more I reflected on the response, or more applicably, how it tasted, I knew something was missing. It wasn’t obvious to me at first. It seemed like I had included everything that was vital to the recipe for preparing and sharing truth from God’s word.

Not sure of exactly what was left out, I needed an expert. One who knew exactly how it should look and taste—I needed a master chef. Reading through the gospels, I looked at the teaching of Jesus. He always taught with His audience and surroundings in mind. He discerned the need and spoke truth relevant to the needs of the audience. In Luke 19:11, I found an example of this. “Jesus went on to tell a parable, because Jesus was near Jerusalem, and they supposed that the kingdom of God was going to appear immediately.” Jesus taught in parables—stories that compared the spiritual to the physical. He embodied the ability to look at his surroundings and identify the need. Confronted with Jesus’ teaching style, I realized this was one of the missing ingredients in my own teaching. I had prepared to share truth, without considering the needs of the women to whom I would be speaking. Grant it, I didn’t have much time to gain insight on this, but I needed to depend on the Spirit to change the style, tone and even the message if necessary.

Awed by the skills of the master chef, I wondered how a sous chef taught truth relevantly. A sous chef is one who is under the master chef. Turning to the letters of Paul, the missing ingredient in my teaching became evident. In 1 Corinthians 2:1-4, I discovered Paul teaching to the early church of believers at Corinth. Corinth was a diverse, yet refined Greek city. Unfortunately, the identity for which Corinth was most known was its wickedness. Paul certainly could have thought he had to come strong and refined in his speech to the Corinthians. Instead, he came not with “superiority of speech or of wisdom,” but he came to them “in weakness and in fear and in much trembling.” Paul’s greatest desire was to demonstrate the Spirit of God and His power. His humble and vulnerable approach in preaching was to point them to God’s power and not his own.

Vulnerability—that was the missing ingredient! Power and strength come naturally to me—vulnerability does not. Although there are many reasons why I should be vulnerable, I overly compensate with power and strength. Through the teaching of Jesus and Paul, I learned vulnerability was essential for teaching the word of God. For one who enjoys baking, I know you can have all the vital ingredients and leave out something as simple as baking powder, and lose the volume and texture of the cake. Baking powder is a leavening agent used to increase the volume and lighten the texture of baked goods. I recognized being vulnerable to change the style and message to the need of the audience would increase the height of the message. Vulnerability is able to rise to areas in which words cannot. It can reach in and touch the heart. By demonstrating God’s Spirit and power, not my own, I could lighten the load for the hearer. Being vulnerable would help them to know that freedom and obedience to God comes through His Spirit and power, not our own. Although the vital ingredients were included, I learned the power of vulnerability to reach areas of the heart and grant freedom, were not optional, but crucial.

What’s the missing ingredient in your life? Maybe you’ve realized there’s something missing in your relationship with your husband, children or friends. Maybe your responses to your responsibilities and circumstances have not tasted as well as you would like. Could the missing ingredient be love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, or self-control? (Galatians 5:22-23)  I encourage you to take some time with the master chef and through his word, the Bible, allow Him to taste your life. He will gently and lovingly show you what’s missing.

It would be such an encouragement to hear from you. What’s been the missing ingredient in your life? Please share your missing ingredient in the comment section of the blog.

If you would like me to pray for you, but would not like it to be public, please email me at tfletcher@suddenlink.net.

If you have had trouble following my blog in the past I recently changed the settings to make it easier. I would love to have you follow the blog. I pray it is an encouragement to you as you seek for the Lord to mold your heart to look more like His.