In his book, The Passion Promise, John Avant relates a story coming out of Desert Storm.
“The storm was blowing and “Colonel William Post had a job to do. He was in charge of receiving all of the incoming supplies for the ground forces. Among these supplies were the tons of food that came in every day.
One day Colonel Post received a message from the Pentagon requesting that he account for forty cases of missing grape jelly. The colonel sent a soldier to investigate the mysterious missing jelly; the soldier reported back that it couldn’t be found. Colonel Post made his report and assumed that would be the end of it. After all, it was just grape jelly.
He assumed wrong. The Pentagon continued to press him, pointing out that they needed to close the books for the month, and jelly just couldn’t vanish like that. Finally they ordered him to find the jelly!
The Colonel had had enough by then and sent back this response: ‘Sirs, you must decide. I can dispatch the entire army to find your missing jelly or kick Saddam out of Kuwait, but not both!’ He got no reply’”
We Christians have a way of wasting our time chasing jelly jars. Some “jelly jars” I’ve seen in church could include:
- “our” Sunday school class
- “our” room
- worship styles
- dress code
- the way it used be when…
- the way we’ve always done it
- decorations, color schemes, “our” pretty sanctuary
…and the list could go on ad nauseam.
In Philippians 1:9-10, Paul prayed a church for the Philippians Christians that maybe we should pray for ourselves. He prayed that they would have discernment to prove what is the most excellent thing. In other words, he prayed that they would be able to distinguish between the jelly jars and the real battle.
Let me encourage you to ask yourself a sobering diagnostic question from time to time as you take inventory of your priorities: did Jesus die on a cross for me to occupy myself with this?
One day, we will give an account to Jesus for how we have built on the foundation of this relationship with Him (1 Corinthians 3:11-15). Much of what we do will not survive the trial of fire; like wood, hay, and straw. These are the things with which we concerned ourselves that had no eternal value and did nothing to advance God’s work in and through us. The jelly jars we chased. The fire will purify other things that we do. These are the things that really mattered, pursuing a growing fellowship with Jesus and sharing Him with those around us. The real battle to which we He commissioned us.
So, what jelly jars are you chasing? What things get you all worked up that really don’t matter? You must decide. Will you pursue the missing jelly or storm the gates of hell?