Like a Potato Skin

Last week, while eating supper with my wife and my daughter (age nine), I had one of those moments where one does a “double-take”. It was an instance that causes one to pause and reflect.

The meal consisted of ribeye steak, green beans, and baked potatoes (I call this a “king’s feast”). The conversation during the meal shifted back and forth between things we encountered that day and anticipation of things to come. Midway through the meal, I heard my daughter speak words that I did not think would ever come from her lips. “You know, the best thing about the potato is the skin.” she exclaimed. While I was pleased with her new found appetite for what some consider the most nutritional part of the potato, I was also perplexed because usually we have to separate the skin from the potato before it reaches her plate because she despises it so. Wow! Just when you think you know someone!

This reminded me of a parable that Jesus once told of two men who went to the temple to pray. One of the men was a Pharisee or “teacher of the law” and considered to be a religious example during that time. The other man was a tax collector and most often viewed as an outcast. At the temple, the Pharisee thanked God that he was not like the tax collector or other “evildoers” and boasted of his deeds. The tax collector “would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, “God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” (Luke 18:13). Wow! Just when you think you know someone.

This story interests me because had I been a part of society back then I would have thought that I could identify a person who knew God. I would have picked the Pharisee. However, Christ tells us that because the tax collector humbled himself, he was the one that was justified before God. The tax collector was the one who really knew God!

I wonder sometimes if we are like the Pharisee and lose sight of who God is and what it means to be a disciple. I wonder sometimes if we get caught up in the do-it-yourself mentality and forget that we are sinners and need a savior. Perhaps we don’t want to admit that we are vulnerable and need a family to lean on. Maybe we encounter times in life where being set apart as kingdom people is not appealing to our selfish appetites and can be tough to swallow…kind of like a potato skin.

Christ said, “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me – (John 10:14). “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” (John 10:27).
These passages paint a vivid image of a shepherd leading, feeding, mending, protecting, and providing for his flock as the sheep are seen listening to, responding to, and following his instruction. How grand a picture of love and trust that is framed in a relational context!

To know Christ is to know God. To know Christ is to follow in his footsteps from pasture to pasture.

Father, help me to recognize my inequities so that I can humble myself. Help me to see you as my shepherd. I pray that my pride subsides and I allow you to lead me. Grant me strength to follow. I want to know you. Amen.

Todd Adams – Dublin, Texas