Butter on My Toast

     I don't know about you, but at my house when I fix toast I like to spread the butter on it from one edge of the crust to the other in all four directions. That doesn't only apply to my Land "O" Lakes butter, when I add the jelly I want that same coverage. I don't want to deprive any portion of my toast from getting equal treatment, or it might just be that I like my butter and jelly as much as I like the toast!
     As I was buttering my bread this morning, I started thinking about how we should apply our faith in our daily walk. Do we spread our faith to all aspects of life reaching the corners and spreading it consistently, or is it not quite that equitable? If we believe our faith is best used on Sunday then we are missing the boat. Being involved in church, serving as a teacher, sharing your Sunday morning in a role at your place of worship is a wonderful opportunity to serve, but we have to realize the people we are serving in our church are, for the most part, those that already have an understanding of faith and service. That's like spreading a layer of butter on top of a buttered piece of toast. Our opportunity to spread the faith we have lies in the areas of our life outside of the church. That's where the corners of the bread that need the butter exist.
     I'm not saying that we shouldn't be serving in our churches and I certainly am not promoting the idea that we shouldn't be in church, but I am promoting the idea that our life in every aspect should demonstrate our relationship and our faith in our Maker. In Titus 2:7 Paul exhorts us with this directive, "And you yourself must be an example to them by doing good works of every kind. Let everything you do reflect the integrity and seriousness of your teaching." Let "everything" you do reflect who you are in Christ is what I hear. In my teaching, when I am coaching, when I am driving down the road, at the grocery store, in the middle of a long line, or when I am with a group of friends or colleagues that may not have this type of relationship, may "everything" I do reflect my integrity and trust in Christ. That's what I hear from Paul in this scripture. 
      It's easy to live life as a Christian when we are surrounded by Christians, most of the people in that circle are on the same page as you. But what happens when we get around a group of people that may not know the love of our Savior? I'm not saying you have to start quoting scriptures and condemning others for not believing, no what I am saying is that you should be living your faith out in that setting just like you would on Sunday morning on your pew at church. Your life should be a reflection not a loudspeaker. If you spread your faith to all corners of your life it will become a natural quality in your life, one that others see and eventually inquire of you, "Why are you so happy?" or "Where do you get so much energy?". That's when you will get the true opportunity to share what God has done for you. 
      I don't just spread butter on my bread like that mayo, mustard, ketchup, and even my peanut butter go from one edge to the other. That's what I want my faith to be like in my life. Do I succeed every day in doing that? Come on now, I'm not perfect, matter of fact I'm a long way from it, but I definitely don't want my bread to have a big clump of butter sitting in the middle of my piece of toast. I want to taste my butter and jelly with each bite I take, so I work hard on spreading it all across my toast. May God give me and the strength to do the same in my life each day that he gives me to live. This is my prayer for each of you as well.
Spread it thick and spread it wide!
Coach Carter