ROLL WITH IT

A family fav around our house—especially for a soup meal—are “cheesy biscuits.” I prepare biscuit dough, knead it well, and roll it out. Then, instead of cutting circles of dough for the baking pan, I go into “cinnamon roll” protocol. I roll the dough flatter, spread with margarine or butter, sprinkle on shredded cheese, roll up into a tube, then slice off inch-and-a-half sections for the baking sheet.

While doing this the other day, I thought along the lines of “if dough could talk.” Would the dough complain about being pushed and rolled flatter and flatter? Or would it better submit to the hard strokes of the rolling pin if it had a vision of the final project? In other words, “roll with it” in the process of becoming usable? Could there be a spiritual analogy.....

The English idiom "roll with it” means to adapt to a situation that comes with unexpected circumstances or challenges.” Our human tendency, however, is to want our own way, not to adapt, and say “no” to God's ways that might be harder, inconvenient, or just not “fun.”

Enter one of the Bible's poster children for “rolling with it,” the apostle Paul. When he left the reasonably cushy life of a respectable member of the Jewish hierarchy--laying it all aside to follow Jesus—his lifestyle changed drastically. No guaranteed income. No permanent home. His passion for Christ led to discomfort and danger. He was beaten and flogged, stoned, mobbed, reviled, jeered, endangered by robbers and enemies, nearly drowned at sea, fled for his life via a basket dropped over the city walls, had a besetting physical problem (some think poor eyesight), endured cold, hunger, inadequate clothes, and was constantly concerned for the fledgling churches.

Of all that, he essentially said, “Not to brag, but I had a rough time after deciding Jesus would be number one in my life.” But he also said that Jesus reminded him: “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9).  Paul responded that as hardship shaped him into the character of Christ, he came to be able to even delight in these difficult experiences. “For when I am weak, then I am strong” (v. 10).

Okay, the process of making “cheesy biscuits” seems a strange illustration for life's trials. But maybe such everyday symbols can also remind us of how the pound-push-pull-press of daily life experiences, including the heat of refinement, are inevitable parts of a growing walk with God.

(By the way, the biscuits are truly delectable with a dollop of jam on top.)

ROLL WITH IT

If you came to our front door, you’d find a huge cardboard tube swathed in black plastic bags to keep it from disintegrating in the rain. Catch us on a sunny day with grandsons visiting, the protective bags off and the tube in the front yard, you’ll likely find the little guys crawling through it (enjoying its echo chamber), rolling inside it, one rolling/the other inside, straddling it—you name it. Who would guess that a construction form for a pillar (from a yard sale) could provide so much entertainment?

Okay, so their grandma is always thinking, and this time the phrase “roll with it” came to mind. The saying has several versions. In sports, we hear “roll with the punches” for how boxers shift their stance to avoid incoming strikes. Todd Beamer’s last known words on a soon-doomed airplane on Sept. 11, 2001, were “Let’s roll,” calling any to help him storm the cockpit which hijackers had commandeered.  But I’m going for the generic meaning of “roll with it,” which means to adapt to unexpected hardships.

Wow, could that also be a Biblical concept? I think of a verse I’ve often recalled as I faced a difficult or potentially impossible situation: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13).  This, alas, is a verse that some folks twist and distort to their expectations. It’s not claim to super powers or a guarantee that they’ll rise about the world’s common woes. Its context was Paul’s note of appreciation to this particular early church, which took up an offering for his “keep” while chained up in a prison in a foreign country. In his early life (particularly “before Christ”), Paul presumably had a comfortable living. That all changed when the Christ he once despised became the Christ he loved and served with all his being. Even in putrid First Century jails.

In other words, Paul looked around at his impossibilities and still said, “Let’s roll.”  Let’s still witness for Christ and let Him show us “the secret of being content in any and every situation,” comfortable, primitive or even what the world would call miserable (Philippians 4:12).

My grandsons enjoyed their short dizzy rides in the tube. They laughed over the echoes of their voices. This cheap little toy was a happy place for them.

But sometimes life is a tube with both ends closed off. It’s dark, the air is suffocating, and we don’t know how to get out. But God knows, and His “exit strategy” may surprise us and build our faith. I think Paul pointed to that as he composed the “close” to his letter to the Philippians. He thanked them again for their sacrificial “support” gift, reminding them that God was equally able to meet their needs:

And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. (4:19)

Roll with life’s dizzy, bumpy, unknown journeys? Absolutely, if you know who’s in charge of things “on top”—the One Paul described in closing as “the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ” (v. 23).