My wife and I got excited the other day when we heard the ice cream truck blaring its horn through our neighborhood. It brought back great memories from our summer childhood, where we would stand in the road staring at the side of the ice cream truck trying to decide between an ice cream sandwich, a chocolate/vanilla combo served in the shape of Mickey Mouse’s head, and a spider-man head with a cold, stale piece of bubble gum waiting for you at the end. Just hearing that music made us want to run outside in reckless abandon! Apparently, though, both of our memories from “the good ole’ days” painted the ice cream truck in a much brighter light than we currently found it.
Who ever thought that buying dairy products out of an old rusty van that had been driving around in the hot sun for hours on end was a good idea anyway? The van, whose horn had begun to distort the sound of the music into the sound you would expect coming out of one on a creepy horror movie, had a window on the side that had been busted out, and that’s where the woman took our money and served us our ice cream. Actually, she was out of my top 4 choices. I didn’t even know I had 4 choices when it came to the ice cream truck, but apparently, she was out all of them. I had to settle for a chocolate eclair…not all that bad, but quite a disappointment. The whole experience has left me a little shaken up. I, a sane adult, bought ice cream out of the busted window of a rusty van.
We should all hope that, as time progresses, we find ourselves growing closer to the Lord. Our walk with Christ should continue to become more intimate (progressive sanctification) as we seek to put off our old self, our former way of life, and put on our new self which has been created to be like God, full of holiness (Ephesians 4:22-24). Sometimes, though, we slip back into “childish” ways, reaching for ice cream out of a rusty van.
What should we do when we find ourselves “feeding our flesh?” Paul exhorts us to put off the sin, and replace it with its righteous counterpart. Put off lying and put on truth-telling (4:25), put off anger and put on active reconciliation (4:26); put off stealing and put on honest labor (4:27). Stealing should be put off, and honest labor should be put on, following by generosity (4:28). Unwholesome talk should be put off, and in its place should come words of encouragement (4:29). Bitterness, anger, rage, brawling, slander, and malice should be given up, and forgiveness should be put on (4:31-32). Paul’s teaching is simple and, at the same time, some of the hardest teaching to put into practice. It’s so hard that, without Christ, it’s impossible. With Christ, though, all things are possible (Matthew 19:26).
So when you find yourself in the middle of the road on a hot day staring at a rusty old van, longing for ice cream to be served to you, trying to understand the ice cream man over the clanking and banging of the muffler, and exchanging money through the broken glass, just stop! Think to your own spiritual growth. Is there anything you need to give up for the sake of following Christ? What needs to be put on in its place? I know I won’t be buying ice cream from that truck anymore.
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