If you know much about the World Race, you know that it is often referred to as a “pressure cooker.” Because of the nature of the Race, change and growth happens more rapidly than many other times in our lives. This is often due to the community around us and the Truth God is speaking into us as we step out of our comfort zones and limited perspectives. I haven’t yet met a World Race alum that disagrees with the “pressure cooker” analogy.
Recently, I was thinking about the Center for Global Action and my time in Gainesville. I wanted to find a kitchen appliance that can be analogous to CGA, and though this was thought of at midnight and my roommate and I were joking about it, I think it holds some truth. So, here it is…
CGA is like a popcorn popper.
Specifically the air popper kind. Like this one…
We, as people, are the popcorn kernels. We are designed for a specific use that we can’t yet be fully utilized in because of our sin, baggage, emotional limitations, lack of desire, etc. So, we are popcorn kernels.
The oil is God’s Truth about us. His grace, love, unique design over each of us, the emotional healing He desires, His living and active Word, and everything else that He speaks over and into us. The oil is necessary for us to be who we were meant to be. The oil is God’s truth about us.
The heat is the Holy Spirit. The oil is still God’s Truth regardless of if it’s heated up or not, BUT when it is heated, it interacts with the kernels to make us into who we are really meant to be. It’s almost as if the heat adds even more value and usability to the oil.
The Holy Spirit moves and “heats up” the Truth “oil” spoken about us by God until it truly sinks into our “kernels.” When that sinking in happens, we change and develop into our true selves, who we were designed to be for God’s Kingdom.
CGA is the air popper popcorn maker. The catalyst. Some kernels pop sooner than others – that’s part of the design. But when they pop, they fall out of the air popper because it can’t hold them anymore. It’s not designed to keep them in that setting. When they become who they are designed to be, they get to live that out in the “real world.” Maybe the “real world” is being part of a movie night or being strung on a Christmas tree – who knows!
CGA is just the agent God uses. Just like the World Race. The World Race didn’t change me – God changed me and used the World Race to speed up the process and catapult me further into realizing my true identity in Him. Just like there are many different kinds of popcorn poppers, CGA is just one of the vehicles God uses to change us into our true selves.
These newly popped kernels now get to serve the Kingdom in the new ways they were designed to. MAYBE this can be analogous to the toppings put on the popcorn (this is a real stretch and may not even equate – but it’s fun):
- Salt – preserve the Truth for others and keep it from being combined with Satan’s lies
- Sugar/Caramel – you’re super sweet and hospitable
- Ranch powder (if you’re in to that kind of thing) – you’re creative, quirky, and add depth to interactions with the different ways you think
- Spicy/Hot sauce – you are passionate and fiery and proclaim victory and freedom to those around you
[You can use your imagination with all of this]
So… we are all kernels needing to transform into who we are truly meant to be for God’s Kingdom. It’s not a perfect analogy, but we aren’t perfect popcorn kernels. For instance, we still need God’s Truth (oil) and the Holy Spirit (heat) everyday of our lives, so I don’t know how that fits into this process after we are out of the popcorn maker. I don’t believe the process ever ends, which leaves a lot of room for more kitchen appliance analogies… *wink wink*
I hope this made you think, or at the very least, made you smile. Have a fun day!
