I admit it.  I love to grill out during the spring and summer months.  I believe it to be a fundamental rite of manhood.  It doesn’t’ matter what it is, hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken, steaks, or even fish, the outdoor grill is what makes meat tastes best.  As a child, I learned how to grill from my father.  And our grill was the infamous Weber charcoal grill.  My father insisted that this grill was the absolute best, superior to all others, that the science behind the grill’s construction ensured that meat was cooked to its maximum flavor.  This grill was built to last, he made clear, and the fact we used the grill for my entire childhood serves as evidence he was correct.

Years later, as a young man, I was determined that the family tradition would continue, as I purchased a brand-new Weber charcoal grill when I was in my late twenties.  For nearly twenty years, we grilled our meats with this amazing outdoor device, and like my father, I taught my three boys how to do so.  However, something happened with the Weber company that caught my attention a little over a decade ago.  The company began to manufacture a gas grill, along with its traditional charcoal grill.  I immediately imagined that it, too, would be superior to all other gas grills, and the product’s price suggested I was not wrong.  Costing several hundreds of dollars, this gas grill was well out of my buying range.  Today, a Weber gas grill with three burners will cost a consumer almost $1000.

All of this created quite a crisis of masculinity for me.  You see, I desperately wanted to own such a grill, but because of my frugal genetic disposition, I could not justify paying the price.  And so, for years I would admire the grills in hardware stores and such, knowing I would likely never own one.  Yet that all changed for me recently, in a welcoming and unforeseen way.  And the change that took place was very exciting!

You see, I discovered that used Weber gas grills were being sold for a much-reduced price on Facebook Marketplace, for hundreds and hundreds of dollars less.  Because of the grill’s superior manufacturing materials, the metal was still in great shape.  It was the interior of the grill that needed replacing, gas burners, igniters, and grates, all of which you could purchase on Amazon for a reasonable price.  And that’s when it happened.  I realized I could own a Weber gas grill!  If I was willing to do a little cleanup and replacement work, I could fix up the grill almost like new, and I would do it for a fraction of the price.  Today I’m the proud owner of the once coveted Weber gas grill, as my work of restoration paid off.  My son and I worked hard on it for several days, cleaning, scraping, and replacing, and now it looks brand new! Did I mention the meat tastes great?

Did you know that God views us in the same way?  You and I have been created in the spiritual image of God, which means that we are vastly different from plants and animals.  We have extreme and eternal value in the eyes of our heavenly Father.  He doesn’t see who we are today, what our sin and bad choices have caused us to become.  Instead, he sees what we can become through him.  The difference is that he does not offer a reduced price for us, as to the contrary, he offers the highest price possible for such value, the price of his Son.  And if we’ll let him, he is more than willing to reclaim and redeem us, and begin a magnificent work of restoration, his goal being to make us more like Christ every single day, ensuring that we live in a way that reflects our spiritual value.  Ephesians 2 tells us that we are his “workmanship,” spiritual “masterpieces” of his doing, and that the fallen and faulty inner workings of our lives have now been replaced with his Holy Spirit.  Are you being led by his Spirit today? Are you living the life of value that is now yours?