The great hamburger debate continues, as I saw while channel surfing the other day. From a pre-weighed, pre-molded, perfectly round pattie, to Wendy's square to smashers-where you take it and smash it with a big spatula on the grill, everyone has their favorite style. Ever have a Big Mac attack? Have to go through the drive up for a Double Double at midnight? Or hit the White Castle for a bag of burgers? Then you understand, when the craving comes for that one special burger, you gotta get one, or two. Would you get up for anything less?
In the burger stands back east, they serve a California burger. Last time I was in Texas Weiner in Bound Brook, I asked what one was. "Oh, it comes with lettuce, tomato, and onion." When I asked her "do they really eat them like that out there?" she assured me, "Oh yeah, all the time." But as different as the burgers are, so are the people grilling, frying, or steaming them. And my personal favorite is from the Squeeze In in Sacramento. A small house, get there about 11am for your noon burger, it's that busy, and crowded. They take a 1/3 pound of meat, grill it with onions, then take a handful of cheddar, and some ice, and put a lid over it, steaming it to perfection. And then cut them out in squares, the cheese crispy and the burger just done right. Note-you cannot have too many napkins, and leave room for fries, eating while you get to know the guy at the counter next to you, squeezed in. Or eat at the back tables, where all talk is about how great the burgers are.
But the ones I notice are the first timers, who order one with everything. Then take off all the things they don't like. I actually have watched a cheeseburger with the trimmings become a hamburger, sans bun, after removing all the good stuff. Stuff he paid extra for-next time just order a cheeseburger plain, without the cheese-or bun! Or stay home! Or how about trying the burger the way it was designed and delivered-and enjoy it the way it oughta be!
Burgers may not be life, but they reflect us. Why do we ask God to bless us, then remove the blessings when he does? Why do we ask for specific things, when God has better things planned? Why do we ask for life with all the trimmings, only to remove the things we don't like, and miss the blessings we remove with it? I am just as guilty, as when God blesses me, I will often cut Him off after a while, when the blessings are not complete. Or He wants to offer me a double meat blessing, and I only want to settle for a single, and skip the special sauce. God is a gourmet God, who has many specialties just for you, designed just for you, and wants to heap them upon your plate. You wouldn't tell a gourmet chef how to prepare his signature meal, so why do we tell God how to prepare our blessings? God stands ready to give you more than you deserve, could ask for, or desire-but you must let Him. Sometimes you must wait, but it is always worth it.
And He gives to those who ask-pressed down, running over-just like a good burger. So ask, and then let Him bless you. Don't cut Jesus off at the cross. Because if you do, you miss the resurrection, and that makes all the difference in the world-and heaven! I want all that Jesus has for me, and if I have to wait for the perfect blessing-Lord help me, I'm starving! If I am not hungry for God, God give me a bigger appetite for you. And when I get the desire to change my cheeseburger into a hamburger, and remove blessings-let me take a bite first, and see how good the meal God prepared for me really tastes. Give me all 3000 calories of blessings, and more too God. Whether eating in, or taking out-always dine with Jesus. At the counter works fine for me. The perfect blessing, made to order, with all the trimmings. Can I get some grilled onions with that please? Only in Christ will you ever be filled. And the wait will be worth it.
Now, did I tell you about the onion rings at The Varsity?
