"Please Sir; I want some more."

Remember the musical, "Oliver"?  Near the beginning of the story, Oliver, an orphan, is sitting at the table with the many other orphans, talking amongst themselves and eating their bowls of porridge.  It's very loud in the dirty, dungeon-like cafeteria. The boys around Oliver talk him into asking for some more.  All of a sudden, in the midst of the chaos, this very meek child gets up from his place and begins a long, slow walk toward the very large, gruff man in charge.  All eyes begin to follow Oliver, and the silence becomes so thick, you can hear a pin drop.  Then Oliver, as he reaches his destination, begins to speak in his trembling, pre-puberty voice and says, "More, please."  The large, gruff man is furious and says, "What did you say?".  Oliver politely responds, "Please Sir; I want some... more?"  Then in a very loud, disturbing voice, the man says, "MORE?"  Then all heck breaks loose and the orphans go wild!

I began thinking about this scene from this wonderful musical this morning as a result of last night's portion of an event that I've been attending this week.  The event is a VBS (Vacation Bible School) for women, designed and taught by the author, Denise Hildreth Jones. The Women's Ministry at Bethel Worship Center in Camden, SC are hosting the event for three evenings.  The scene from the musical, though, is totally opposite from how our Heavenly Father responds to our asking for more.  I love to learn more about God's Word and about His character.  It's so "filling" and satisfying to receive "more" from the One who feeds my spirit.  Denise is pouring out on us, this week, what she has been given so we can be filled with more.  Thanks Denise!

As we receive more, more is required. We are responsible for doing something with the "more" that God gives us.  In Luke 12:48, Jesus is teaching through a parable about the faithful servant and the evil servant.   He is cautioning them to stay focused and to be prepared for His coming, the second time. He has given them, His disciples, knowledge, spiritual ears to hear and the ability to understand what He is talking about.  Now it's their turn to respond.  They are to live according to the wisdom and knowledge that they have received.  What they learn, and now, Who they know, should change their lives.  Jesus says, "But to him who did not know, yet committed things deserving of stripes, shall be beaten with few.  For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required;...". NKJV (Jesus used the Master-slave analogies quite often because of the culture they lived in.)

Learning more is not only gaining head knowledge; it's applying the knowledge that you receive to your heart.  The heart is our soul.  It's what defines us.  It's our inner most being.  We are responsible for the knowledge that we receive.  As disciples of Christ, we are to put that knowledge into action.  The action is called "obedience".  The "more" we receive, the more we should look like Christ.  That's called "transformation".  His image reflected in and through our lives is the ultimate end of the "more" that He continues to reveal to us.  Wisdom, which is seeing life from God's perspective, leads to teaching others about the knowledge that we've received from God. Proverbs 9:10 says, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding."  NKJV  We obey because of our fear of the Lord.  Fear doesn't mean that we cower. It means that we love God so much that we would'nt dare... not to obey Him.  The fear of the Lord is a healthy understanding of who God is, what He requires, and then living out, in faith, what we believe and understand to be true. 

Do you want "some more"?  First, we have to finish what's on our plate; applying what He's already fed us and then ask for more. The more we live out what He's given us, the more glory He receives.  With ladle in hand, it would be His pleasure to serve you up "some more"!

"Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser; Teach a just man, and he will increase in learning." Proverbs 9:9 NKJV

My Pleasure,
Melanie