Today we stopped by Taco Bell to get Aspen some dinner.  She ordered her usual menu: Two Cheese Roll Ups, a side of sour cream, a side of rice, and cheesy fiesta potatoes minus the cheese.  Brett commented that “Cheesy Fiesta Potatoes” without the cheese was an oxymoron.  After all, without cheese, they are no longer really all that festive so they aren’t Fiesta Potatoes, and who would be festive about that?  I usually just let him have these rants, it seems to make him feel better.  Most of the time I just smile and nod, but this time I thought he might be onto something.

 Now you may ask, “How does this apply to my spiritual life?”  Well having cheesy fiesta potatoes without the cheese could be compared to being a Christian without actually letting Christ influence your life.  Cheesy Fiesta Potatoes were so named because you could see the cheese on them.  Yum!  If someone had put you in charge of naming a bowl of fried potatoes with cheese and sour cream on them, you would have probably named them, “Cheesy Fiesta Potatoes”.  On the other hand if someone had set before you a bowl of fried potatoes with just sour cream on them, you may have named them “Potatoes’n’ Cream”.  In the same train of thought, if you stand before someone with the actions of Christ, they will automatically know what you are: a Christian.  But stand before a group of people without the actions of Christ and no one would call you a Christian.  “In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”  Matthew 5:16