Imagine if your job was to lead people to love Oreos rather than lead people to love Jesus.
First, you’d need to answer the question, “What are Oreos made of?” I mean, what actually goes into these Oreos we long to love? Let’s study together…
Oreos are made with sugar, unbleached, enriched flour, and riboflavin. Why don’t we pause and double-click to understand that word, “Riboflavin.”
“Riboflavin is a yellow vitamin of the B complex which is essential for metabolic energy production. It is present in many foods, especially milk, liver, eggs, and green vegetables, and is also synthesized by the intestinal flora.”
Also, in Oreos, you will find palm oil and dextrose. Now, don’t miss the meaning of dextrose.
“Dextrose is a type of sugar that usually comes from corn or wheat. It is almost identical to glucose, which is the sugar found in the bloodstream. For that reason, it can be quickly used as a source of energy by the human body.”
That’s what Oreos are made of. So good. But as people seeking to love Oreos, we also need to study how they are to be consumed. We need to answer the question, “How should we eat Oreos?”
To answer that we turn to the experts who say there are several ways to interpret the proper consumption of the Oreo. Oreos can be dunked in a glass of milk with fingers or a fork. Some people just take a bite, plain and simple. But Oreo’s U.S.A’s marketing director, Marion Saenen, says, “Here’s the answer: The ‘twist, lick and dunk’ method is the Oreo team’s tried-and-true approach. Twisting the cookie halves apart, trying the layer of cream and then dunking the Oreo into some milk is what the brand swears by.”
Friends, these are important questions. Wonderful topics to consider. What are Oreos made of? And What do experts say is the best way to consume Oreos? For how could we learn to love Oreos if we don’t understand their origin or how they are to be taken in? But, here’s a more important question —
“What good does any of that do if you never actually eat an Oreo?”
At some point you need to take a bite. It doesn’t do much good to learn the ingredients if you never experience the flavor. And if we are honest, sometimes our discipleship (toward Jesus, not Oreos) can be largely educational when discipleship is intended to be experiential. The Bible, especially the early church, is full of people experiencing the life of a disciple, in addition to learning about it. But so often what we offer are simply studies.
We need to study God’s Word with passion and consistency, but then we need to live it. To try it. To experience ourselves what we’ve read about. We need to prepare, but then pray. Understand, but then serve. Learn, but then live.
Let’s not just be disciples or leaders of disciples who only study the ingredients; let’s eat the Oreos. Let us not be people who just learn and remember, but who taste and see that the Lord is good. Jesus didn’t come to this earth and live and die and raise so we could only study the life He longs for us to have. He wants us to experience it. He wants us to be together, devoted, praying, loving, serving, in awe and gladness, worshiping, etc. for the sake of our joy and His glory in the world.
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If you don’t have a resource that helps those you lead pursue experiential discipleship, Rooted, and the other resources from the Rooted Network, are built on the 7 foundational rhythms of a disciple and include intentional, experiential learning opportunities. Learn more at experiencerooted.com.